Washington state is dealing with several illnesses at once, with influenza leading the pack during the current respiratory season. COVID-19 and RSV are also circulating, measles cases have emerged, and norovirus is causing stomach illness statewide. Here’s what’s spreading and what to watch for.
Flu Season Has Been Unusually Severe
Influenza A(H3N2) is the dominant flu strain circulating nationally and in Washington this season. The severity has been notable: the weekly flu hospitalization rate peaked at 12.6 per 100,000 people, the second highest peak weekly rate recorded since the 2010-2011 season. The cumulative hospitalization rate through early January reached 50.4 per 100,000, also the second highest on record for that point in the season.
H3N2 seasons tend to hit older adults especially hard. Typical flu symptoms include sudden onset of fever, body aches, chills, cough, and fatigue. Unlike a cold, the flu usually comes on fast and makes you feel wiped out. Most people recover in one to two weeks, but this season’s high hospitalization numbers suggest the circulating strain is causing more severe illness than average. If you’re experiencing difficulty breathing, persistent chest pain, or confusion, those are signs you need medical attention quickly.
COVID-19 Is Still Circulating
COVID-19 hasn’t disappeared from Washington. The CDC’s national wastewater surveillance program, which detects viral particles in sewage before people even visit a doctor, continues to track SARS-CoV-2 levels across the country. Wastewater monitoring tends to pick up surges earlier than hospital data, so rising viral activity levels in your area can signal increased risk of infection even when case counts look low.
Symptoms of current COVID strains overlap heavily with flu: fever, sore throat, congestion, cough, fatigue, and body aches. Some people still report loss of taste or smell, though this is less common with recent variants. A home rapid test is the quickest way to tell COVID apart from the flu, and knowing which one you have matters because antiviral treatments are different for each.
Measles Cases in Washington
Washington is one of 31 states reporting confirmed measles cases in 2026. The state had recorded 26 cases as of early March, making it part of a large national surge that has reached over 1,280 confirmed cases across the country.
Measles spreads through the air and is extraordinarily contagious. A single infected person can transmit it to 9 out of 10 unvaccinated people nearby. Symptoms start with high fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes, followed a few days later by a rash that typically begins on the face and spreads downward. The virus can linger in a room for up to two hours after an infected person leaves. If you’re unsure whether you or your children are up to date on the MMR vaccine, this is a good time to check.
Norovirus and Stomach Illness
Norovirus, the most common cause of what people call “stomach flu,” is active across the country. Between August 2025 and early February 2026, participating states reported 644 outbreaks to the CDC. That’s actually lower than the same period last year (1,707 outbreaks) but still falls within the normal historical range. Norovirus activity typically peaks between December and March, so Washington residents are in the thick of the high-risk window right now.
Norovirus hits fast. Within 12 to 48 hours of exposure, you can expect vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, and stomach cramps. It usually lasts one to three days. The virus spreads easily in close quarters like schools, nursing homes, and cruise ships, and it takes very few viral particles to make someone sick. Frequent handwashing with soap and water is more effective than hand sanitizer against norovirus, since the virus lacks the outer coating that alcohol-based sanitizers are designed to break down.
Avian Flu Remains on the Radar
Washington has been tracking H5N1 avian influenza closely. A Grays Harbor County resident tested preliminarily positive for avian flu in November 2025, and the state has issued multiple updates on the situation since early 2024, when outbreaks in dairy cattle raised concerns about human spillover. The risk to the general public remains low, but people who work directly with poultry, wild birds, or dairy cattle should take precautions like wearing protective equipment and avoiding contact with sick or dead animals.
H5N1 in humans can cause symptoms ranging from mild eye irritation to severe respiratory illness. The concern isn’t so much what the virus is doing now but what it could do if it mutates to spread more easily between people. Health departments across Washington continue to monitor the situation.
A Drug-Resistant Fungal Infection Is Spreading
Washington health officials have issued repeated advisories about rising cases of Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungal infection that primarily affects people in healthcare settings. Alerts about increasing cases were issued in January 2024, July 2024, and again in June 2025, signaling a persistent and growing problem.
Candida auris is not a concern for most healthy people. It mainly threatens those who are already hospitalized, have weakened immune systems, or have invasive medical devices like central lines or catheters. The reason it gets attention is that it resists many standard antifungal medications, making infections difficult to treat. If you have a family member in a long-term care facility or hospital, it’s worth knowing that this pathogen is present in Washington’s healthcare system.
How to Tell What You Might Have
With so many illnesses circulating at once, symptoms can blur together. A few patterns can help you sort things out:
- Flu: Sudden high fever, severe body aches, exhaustion, dry cough. Comes on like a wall.
- COVID-19: Similar to flu but may include loss of taste or smell, sore throat as a leading symptom, or a more gradual onset.
- RSV: Runny nose, cough, wheezing. Most dangerous for infants and adults over 60.
- Norovirus: Vomiting and diarrhea are the hallmarks, not respiratory symptoms. Comes on suddenly and resolves in days.
- Measles: High fever with the distinctive spreading rash, plus red eyes and cough. Usually appears 7 to 14 days after exposure.
Home COVID tests and flu tests (available at some pharmacies) can help narrow things down. For young children, older adults, pregnant people, or anyone with a chronic health condition, getting tested early matters because antiviral treatments for both flu and COVID work best within the first 48 hours of symptoms.