{"id":3294,"date":"2019-07-19T10:04:03","date_gmt":"2019-07-19T14:04:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/?page_id=3294"},"modified":"2019-07-19T11:16:42","modified_gmt":"2019-07-19T15:16:42","slug":"virginia-department-of-health-warns-residents-of-increase-in-respiratory-illnesses-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/virginia-department-of-health-warns-residents-of-increase-in-respiratory-illnesses-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia Department of Health Warns Residents of Increase in Respiratory Illnesses"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: right;\">July 19, 2019<\/p>\n<p>For More Information Contact<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lorrie Andrew-Spear &#8211; 703-530-2627 &#8211; <a href=\"mailto:Lorrie.Andrew-Spear@VDH.virginia.gov\">Lorrie.Andrew-Spear@VDH.virginia.gov<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Virginia Department of Health Warns Residents of Increase in Respiratory Illnesses<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Anyone Experiencing Difficulty Breathing Should Seek Medical Care <\/em><\/p>\n<p>(Richmond, Va.) \u2013 Since the end of flu season in May, the Virginia Department of Health has received increased reports of respiratory (breathing) illness across the Commonwealth greater than observed in previous summers. Most of the reports have occurred among older adults and those with chronic medical conditions in assisted living and long-term care facilities. The reports involve different regions of the state and different diseases, including pertussis (whooping cough), influenza, <em>Haemophilus<\/em> <em>influenzae<\/em> infection, Legionnaire\u2019s disease, and pneumonia caused by rhinovirus or human metapneumovirus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA variety of germs cause respiratory illness, some with increased activity in summer months\u201d said State Health Commissioner M. Norman Oliver, MD, MA. \u201cWe encourage everyone to take steps to minimize the severity and prevent spreading illness to others.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Oliver continued, \u201cTo avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others, it is important to wash hands thoroughly with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing. To help prevent the spread of germs, avoid close contact with people who are sick. Anyone who is sick should stay home, except when seeking medical care. If you develop difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, immediately seek medical care.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Certain groups are especially vulnerable for developing severe respiratory illness, including young children, adults 65 years or older, those with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and heart conditions) and those with weakened immune systems.<\/p>\n<p>Extreme heat, like Virginia is currently experiencing, can also be dangerous for older adults and people with heart and lung diseases.<\/p>\n<p>Tips to avoid heat-related illness include drinking plenty of water, keeping cool indoors, dressing for the heat, and limiting physical activity, especially in the middle of the day. For more information about heat-related illness, see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/severe-weather-preparedness\/extreme-heat-and-heat-related-illnesses\/\">www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/severe-weather-preparedness\/extreme-heat-and-heat-related-illnesses\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>July 19, 2019 For More Information Contact Lorrie Andrew-Spear &#8211; 703-530-2627 &#8211; Lorrie.Andrew-Spear@VDH.virginia.gov &nbsp; Virginia Department of Health Warns Residents of Increase in Respiratory Illnesses Anyone Experiencing Difficulty Breathing Should Seek Medical Care (Richmond, Va.) \u2013 Since the end of flu season in May, the Virginia Department of Health has received increased reports of respiratory [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":0,"parent":41,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3294","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Virginia Department of Health Warns Residents of Increase in Respiratory Illnesses - Newsroom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/virginia-department-of-health-warns-residents-of-increase-in-respiratory-illnesses-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Virginia Department of Health Warns Residents of Increase in Respiratory Illnesses - Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"July 19, 2019 For More Information Contact Lorrie Andrew-Spear &#8211; 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