Coronavirus shutdowns have quashed nearly all other common viruses. But scientists say a rebound is coming.

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Tue, 2021-01-12 18:14 — mike kraft

Veteran virus trackers say they are chronicling something never before seen — the suppression of virtually every common respiratory and gastrointestinal virus besides the novel coronavirus. They theorize that is largely due to global shutdowns, mask-wearing and a host of other health protocols aimed at stemming the spread of the coronavirus.

These other viruses — including influenza A, influenza B, parainfluenza, norovirus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human metapneumovirus — all appear to be circulating at or near levels lower than ever previously measured. The same is true for the respiratory bacteria that cause pertussis, better known as whooping cough, and pneumonia.

In 2019, during the third week of December, before the coronavirus struck the United States, the CDC’s network of clinical labs reported that 16.2 percent of the 29,578 samples tested were positive for influenza A. During the same week in 2020, the rate was 0.3 percent.

An online map of flu activity maintained by the CDC offers striking visual evidence of the effect. In 2020, for the week ending Dec. 19, the map of the United States is a sea of green, showing “minimal” levels in every state. For the corresponding week in 2019, most states were red (“high”) or deep blue (“very high”). ...

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