Flu cases are dropping at both Monadnock Region hospitals following high numbers in January. Local wastewater testing also suggests a similar trend.
“We are already seeing a significant decline in the number of influenza cases over the past month,” wrote Dr. Sergio Reyes, Cheshire Medical Center’s infectious disease physician, in a statement he emailed Tuesday.
Reyes said that after the holiday season, Cheshire Medical saw an increasing number of patients admitted to the Keene hospital or in the emergency department with positive flu tests.
“It is definitely getting better,” Reyes wrote, adding that Cheshire had not had any flu-related deaths so far this season. This is in line with last year, according to Reyes.
Similarly, Infection Preventionist Brian Earnshaw said this week that Monadnock Community Hospital in Peterborough had not seen any flu-related deaths this season.
As of Feb. 14, there had been at least 59 influenza-related deaths in New Hampshire this flu season, two of which involved children, according to the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services’ most recently available statewide weekly report. The N.H. Hospital Association’s weekly report said that as of Feb. 25, hospital inpatient capacity throughout the state was 91 percent.
At Monadnock Community Hospital, “We had an early peak in December of 2025 with Influenza A,” Earnshaw said via email Tuesday. “We are seeing a rise in Influenza B but not close to the level of what we saw in December for A.”
The declines seen at the Keene and Peterborough hospitals are mirrored in data from wastewater treated in Keene, which the state health department tests for flu virus. Influenza A in samples peaked on Dec. 22 at over 17,087 viral copies per 100 milliliters, and fell to 3,475 by Feb. 16. Although accounting for a minority of flu cases, recorded wastewater concentrations of Influenza B in mid-February were at their highest level so far this season. In its weekly flu survey from Feb. 21, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that Influenza A represented 84.9 percent of flu activity nationally for the 2025-26 flu season.
The spike in cases around the holidays followed by steady case numbers has also been seen nationally, according to Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventative medicine at Vanderbilt University.
“It started very, very quickly, in many places around the country,” Schaffner said. “We had a strong upsurge in cases of influenza, with accompanying hospitalizations. That peaked and then came down, and then it’s rather sustained itself throughout the rest of the season.”
Mark Kreamer, Cheshire EMS’ deputy chief, said that during winter, “we do see an uptick” in the number of calls related to respiratory illnesses. But “it has been a bit higher this year.”
While this year has brought more severe cases of respiratory illnesses, Kreamer said, the number of cases Cheshire EMS has seen are consistent with last year.
The 2024-25 flu season was one of the strongest in decades, Schaffner said. The 2025-26 season has been similar in its strength, he said.
“It’s very unusual to have two substantial seasons back to back,” Schaffner said, noting that this year’s season should begin to taper off in April.
Around the holidays, Maplewood Nursing Home in Westmoreland had several staff members get sick, according to Administrator Kathryn Kindopp. However, among residents, the nursing home had not has had any flu cases, Kindopp said Thursday. It is typical for the nursing home to go an entire season without an outbreak, according to Kindopp, who attributed this to the facility’s safety measures.
At the Jaffrey-Rindge Cooperative School District, District Nurse Coordinator Andria Dion said flu case numbers have fluctuated this season but have been manageable.
“It kind of comes and goes,” Dion said. Dion predicts an increase following the February break, but “it’s kind of a wait and see approach.”
Elijah de Castro can be reached at 603-355-8577 or edecastro@keenesentinel.com.
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