ROANOKE, Va. – 10 News’ “What’s Going Around” looks at local respiratory virus trends in the Roanoke region and across Virginia. Thanks to a partnership with Johns Hopkins University and the Center for Outbreak Response Innovation, the station can show localized disease data for the community.
In Roanoke and surrounding counties, emergency department visits for influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are at moderate levels. COVID-19 emergency department visits increased slightly since last week but remain low.
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Halifax County and the town of South Boston report low levels for all respiratory illnesses compared with last week. RSV emergency department visit rates were still high in Wise County as of March 13.
Wastewater surveillance, which tracks virus levels in sewage, has shown higher COVID-19 levels for Roanoke. Wastewater can reveal community illness trends regardless of whether people seek medical care.
Emergency room visits for flu peaked at 10.2% during the week of December 27, 2025, and have declined significantly since, though we are still in flu season, according to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Health Security.
Most of the respiratory activity for the state now is the flu, and it is lingering, according to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Health Security. Virginia Department of Health surveillance shows influenza A, which dominated earlier in the season, is decreasing while influenza B is increasing. A late-season shift between strains is common and may explain recent changes in activity.
Flu activity is expected to decline in the coming weeks as transmission across Virginia appears to be slowing. Models from the CDC suggest only a 20% chance that flu transmission will increase, and historical patterns suggest the same.
Virginia has reported 45 COVID-19-, influenza- and/or RSV-associated deaths in the past six weeks, according to the Virginia Department of Health. The department reviews death certificates to identify causes of death and monitor the impact of severe illness and outcomes from respiratory viruses. More information about respiratory illness deaths in Virginia is available here.
Staying up to date on vaccinations, washing hands often and staying home when sick can help limit the spread of illness. Taking precautions is especially important around older adults and young children, both of whom face a higher risk of serious illness.
How Virginia compares nationally
The number of respiratory illnesses prompting people to seek medical care is rated low, and overall seasonal influenza activity is elevated nationally but is decreasing in most areas.
RSV activity is elevated and rising in parts of the U.S. National wastewater monitoring shows low COVID-19 activity overall, moderate RSV and very low influenza A; influenza B is not tracked in wastewater.