The state Department of Public Health is warning again about three respiratory viruses that could threaten hospital capacity as they circulate through Connecticut this fall.

Health Commissioner Dr. Manisha Juthani said Friday Respiratory Syncytial Virus, or RSV, is spreading more intensely than usual in Connecticut schools this year and peaking much earlier. And flu season has started much earlier than usual.

"We're seeing the biggest burden of flu right now in Fairfield County, but I would anticipate that would continue to spread across Fairfield County in the weeks and months ahead," said Juthani.

Juthani says the state saw about 100 reported cases of flu in the past week with seven people hospitalized. That's along with hundreds of cases of RSV reported in just the past few days, mostly in kids ages 9 and younger, and the next potential surge in COVID cases waiting in the wings.

Juthani says vaccines are one of the best weapons against the respiratory trifecta.

Pediatrician Dr. Amit Kamath a lot of the good habits kids have had to practice over the pandemic still apply here.

"Just washing hands, using soap for washing hands, using masks when they're sick. Don't go to school when the child is sick," said Kamath.

The Department of Public Health says 564 Connecticut residents have been hospitalized with the flu so far this season.