Viral Respiratory Diseases

The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) routinely monitors the percentage of emergency department (ED) visits in Alabama diagnosed with a respiratory virus to understand the level of respiratory virus activity across the state and whether it is increasing or decreasing. With the start of the 2023-2024 season (beginning October 1, 2023), a new dashboard was launched focusing on ED visits reporting diagnosed COVID-19, influenza-like illness (ILI), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Hospitals and stand-alone EDs report these data in near real-time to Alabama's Syndromic Surveillance Program (AlaSyS). CDC has developed a Companion Guide to describe the diagnostic codes and clinical terms used to create definitions for these respiratory viruses.