Summary

• Emergency room visits and hospitalizations are up by nearly 20% among children under 15 and stable among adults.

• Visits and hospitalizations for asthma are rising sharply among children under 15, with numbers exceeding expected levels during this back-to-school period.

• This asthma surge is primarily linked to the circulation of rhinoviruses during this period, as evidenced by the concurrent rise in upper respiratory tract infections also observed in children.