Influenza is the dominant respiratory illness circulating in Virginia right now, accounting for 2.4% of all emergency department visits statewide for the week ending February 21, 2026. But the bigger story may be stomach illness: gastrointestinal infections have surged above the expected threshold, with nearly 12% of emergency and urgent care visits tied to GI symptoms.
Influenza Is the Top Respiratory Threat
Flu is driving more ER visits than any other respiratory virus in Virginia this winter. At 2.4% of all emergency department visits diagnosed as influenza, it outpaces both COVID-19 (0.7%) and RSV (0.4%) by a wide margin. That 2.4% figure represents a significant volume of cases when spread across every hospital emergency room in the state.
Flu symptoms typically hit fast: fever, body aches, chills, fatigue, cough, and sore throat. Most healthy adults recover within a week or two, but the very young, older adults, pregnant women, and people with chronic conditions face higher risks for complications like pneumonia. If you’re in one of those groups and develop flu symptoms, early treatment with antivirals can shorten the illness and reduce the chance of hospitalization. The window for antivirals is tight, ideally within 48 hours of your first symptoms.
Stomach Bugs Are Above Normal Levels
Gastrointestinal illness is running hotter than expected across Virginia. For the week of February 15 through 21, GI-related visits made up 11.9% of all emergency department and urgent care traffic, clearing the seasonal threshold of 10.5%. The Virginia Department of Health tracked 13 norovirus-like outbreaks statewide during that same week, with 2 of those concentrated in a single region.
Norovirus is the most common culprit behind these kinds of outbreaks. It causes sudden vomiting, watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, and sometimes a low-grade fever. Symptoms usually start 12 to 48 hours after exposure and last one to three days. The virus spreads remarkably easily through contaminated surfaces, food, and close contact with someone who’s sick. A tiny amount of the virus is enough to cause infection, which is why it tears through households, schools, and nursing homes so quickly.
Dehydration is the main risk, especially for young children and older adults. If you or someone in your household comes down with a stomach bug, frequent small sips of water or an oral rehydration solution are more effective than trying to drink large amounts at once. Handwashing with soap and water is more effective against norovirus than alcohol-based hand sanitizer, because the virus lacks the outer coating that sanitizer is designed to break down.
COVID-19 and RSV Are Circulating at Lower Levels
COVID-19 accounts for 0.7% of Virginia emergency department visits, and RSV sits at 0.4%. Both are present but not driving the kind of volume that flu and stomach illness are producing right now. That doesn’t mean they’re harmless. COVID can still cause prolonged symptoms in some people, and RSV remains a serious concern for infants under six months and adults over 65, who are more likely to need hospital care if they catch it.
The symptoms of all three respiratory viruses overlap considerably: cough, congestion, fever, fatigue. If you’re trying to figure out what you’ve caught, a rapid home test can identify COVID-19 but won’t distinguish between flu and RSV. A healthcare provider can run a combination test that checks for all three at once if the answer matters for your treatment.
How to Check Your Local Area
Statewide numbers can mask significant regional differences. A community in Northern Virginia might have very different illness patterns than one in the Shenandoah Valley or Hampton Roads. The Virginia Department of Health publishes a Detailed Emergency Visits dashboard that breaks down respiratory and gastrointestinal illness data by local health region, updated every Tuesday. Searching “VDH respiratory disease data” will take you directly to the tracker, where you can see what percentage of ER visits near you are tied to each virus.
Schools and childcare centers tend to be early indicators of what’s spreading locally. If your child’s school has reported a wave of absences, that’s a practical signal to be more diligent about handwashing and to keep sick kids home until symptoms have fully cleared, particularly with norovirus, where people remain contagious for at least two days after symptoms stop.