Overview: These dashboards show trends in Lancaster County, Nebraska for influenza (flu), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenovirus, parainfluenza, rhinovirus/enterovirus (RVEV), coronavirus, human metapneumovirus, and parapertussis. The data on these dashboards help us monitor early signs of disease spread, virus variants or subtypes occurring in Lancaster County.
Respiratory Virus Seasons: Respiratory virus activity typically begins to increase in the fall and continues through the winter.
Laboratory Tests: We monitor laboratory tests to understand how many tests are being performed and what percent of tests that are positive for a respiratory virus to understand if activity is increasing or decreasing. Laboratory tests are attributed to specimen collection date.
Dashboard Update Frequency: This dashboard will be updated once a week.
Influenza
Influenza (flu) is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and lungs. There are two main types of influenza (flu) viruses: types A and B. The influenza A and B viruses that routinely spread in people (human influenza viruses) are responsible for seasonal flu epidemics each year.
Click here for national influenza data
Click here for the Nebraska DHHS respiratory illness dashboard| YEAR | Total Tests | Positives | Percent Positivity |
|---|
| 2024 | 13569 | 2000 | 14.74% |
| | Month | Tests | Positives |
|---|
| January | 2671 | 360 |
| February | 3231 | 795 |
| March | 2615 | 569 |
| April | 1779 | 176 |
| May | 1425 | 53 |
| June | 728 | 19 |
| July | 399 | 6 |
| August | 281 | 9 |
| September | 9 | 0 |
|
| 2023 | 18273 | 807 | 4.42% |
| | Month | Tests | Positives |
|---|
| January | 2762 | 259 |
| February | 2169 | 67 |
| March | 1754 | 24 |
| April | 1157 | 11 |
| May | 851 | 5 |
| June | 350 | 5 |
| July | 327 | 4 |
| August | 556 | 4 |
| September | 843 | 2 |
| October | 1580 | 28 |
| November | 2286 | 70 |
| December | 3288 | 335 |
|
| 2022 | 28915 | 3125 | 10.81% |
| | Month | Tests | Positives |
|---|
| January | 4398 | 164 |
| February | 1504 | 80 |
| March | 1923 | 220 |
| April | 1923 | 244 |
| May | 2237 | 86 |
| June | 1651 | 23 |
| July | 1263 | 7 |
| August | 1126 | 3 |
| September | 1248 | 7 |
| October | 1550 | 20 |
| November | 3263 | 685 |
| December | 4729 | 1467 |
|
| 2021 | 18029 | 313 | 1.74% |
| | Month | Tests | Positives |
|---|
| January | 1823 | 5 |
| February | 1290 | 2 |
| March | 1076 | 5 |
| April | 947 | 1 |
| May | 733 | 0 |
| June | 735 | 0 |
| July | 943 | 1 |
| August | 1632 | 3 |
| September | 1458 | 2 |
| October | 1474 | 2 |
| November | 2039 | 36 |
| December | 3758 | 366 |
|
| 2020 | 10298 | 1278 | 12.41% |
| | Month | Tests | Positives |
|---|
| January | 2090 | 561 |
| February | 1694 | 413 |
| March | 1857 | 210 |
| April | 267 | 1 |
| May | 179 | 1 |
| June | 109 | 0 |
| July | 115 | 0 |
| August | 148 | 3 |
| September | 281 | 0 |
| October | 401 | 2 |
| November | 787 | 4 |
| December | 2026 | 2 |
|
| 2019 | 10493 | 1377 | 13.12% |
| | Month | Tests | Positives |
|---|
| January | 1765 | 378 |
| February | 1407 | 275 |
| March | 1034 | 102 |
| April | 629 | 23 |
| May | 386 | 6 |
| June | 226 | 1 |
| July | 246 | 2 |
| August | 273 | 3 |
| September | 423 | 1 |
| October | 735 | 2 |
| November | 962 | 51 |
| December | 2228 | 563 |
|
| 2018 | 8082 | 1643 | 20.33% |
| | Month | Tests | Positives |
|---|
| January | 1839 | 371 |
| February | 1968 | 578 |
| March | 1073 | 269 |
| April | 467 | 55 |
| May | 141 | 10 |
| June | 58 | 3 |
| July | 41 | 1 |
| August | 40 | 0 |
| September | 128 | 2 |
| October | 322 | 4 |
| November | 436 | 6 |
| December | 1564 | 383 |
|
The charts below use the weeks with a starting date of Sunday through the following Saturday. Week numbers are representative of those weeks in each year.
Additional Influenza Details
Influenza Type/Subtype: Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is a respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. There are two main types of influenza virus, types A and B. Test results may include the Type (Type A, Type B) or the virus subtype (such as H3N2), which helps determine the specific virus strains circulating in Lancaster County.
Click here for the weekly national (CDC) influenza surveillance data.
| Year | Total Tests | Positive Tests | A/B | H1/H3 | Test Type |
|---|
| 2024 | 13569 | 2000 | A: 1097/13557
B: 906/13341 | H1: 25/1097
H3: 285/1097 | PCR: 670/4915
Antigen: 1340/9016 |
| 2023 | 18273 | 807 | A: 609/18261
B: 192/17924 | H1: 52/609
H3: 144/609 | PCR: 268/10065
Antigen: 545/8862 |
| 2022 | 28915 | 3125 | A: 2936/28900
B: 185/28542 | H1: 581/2936
H3: 545/2936 | PCR: 1466/16524
Antigen: 1669/13554 |
| 2021 | 18029 | 313 | A: 274/18027
B: 39/17902 | H1: 40/274
H3: 30/274 | PCR: 149/15317
Antigen: 174/2906 |
| 2020 | 10298 | 1278 | A: 684/10280
B: 597/9957 | H1: 58/684
H3: 1/684 | PCR: 256/5973
Antigen: 1067/5154 |
| 2019 | 10493 | 1377 | A: 1237/9803
B: 141/9617 | H1: 28/1237
H3: 59/1237 | PCR: 223/4015
Antigen: 1182/7213 |
| 2018 | 8082 | 1643 | A: 1350/7554
B: 296/5052 | H1: 5/1350
H3: 0/1350 | PCR: 221/1171
Antigen: 1440/7264 |
Age Overview for Influenza
The information displayed below highlights age. Further demographic stratification may be added in the future.
TECHNICAL NOTES
Negative laboratory test reporting requirements affect percent positivity
Most negative laboratory tests are not required to be reported per Title 173 Nebraska Administrative Code (NAC) regulations for communicable disease reporting as established through the Nebraska State Legislature. Click the link below to see Title 173 Chapter 1 of the Nebraska rules & regulations governing these requirements. The negative laboratory tests for influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are required to be reported by laboratories submitting data electronically, which means percent positivity (the percent of tests that detected the pathogen, out of all tests reported) is more likely to be accurate for influenza and RSV than other respiratory pathogens.
Click here for Title 173 Rules & Regulations PDF
Disclaimer: When interpreting these data, it is important to recognize that laboratory-based surveillance systems are unique laboratory results and are not considered individual cases. For this reason, laboratory-based surveillance systems have a number of limitations, including, but not limited to: underreporting, sampling bias, reporting lags, and lack of integration with epidemiological information. Reporting of influenza, RSV, parainfluenza, rhinovirus/enterovirus, coronavirus (non-COVID-19), human metapneumovirus and parapertussis conditions are only required by laboratories performing electronic lab reporting per 173 NAC 1-005.02C; additionally, only negative laboratory results for influenza and RSV are required to be reported by laboratories performing electronic lab reporting per 173 NAC 1-005.02C. Percent positivity may not be representative of transmission in Lancaster County as a result.
Data are subject to change
All data are preliminary and subject to change as we update data. Laboratory test results reflect unique encounters, and counts do not necessarily reflect unique persons.
Abbreviations
- RSV: Respiratory syncytial virus
- RVEV: Rhinovirus/enterovirus
- Seasonal coronavirus: Refers to HCoV-NL63, HCoV-229E, HCoV-OC43 and HCoV-HKU1. This count does not include SARS-CoV2.
- NEDSS: Nebraska Electronic Disease Surveillance System
- ILI: Influenza-like illness