Doctors at Children’s of Alabama announced they are seeing more cases of flu already this year and said they are expecting a “weird” flu season.
Based on early predictions, doctors believe cases will be higher than in the past two years.
While there are already more cases than typical, Children’s said it expected the peak to be sometime in February.
Another concern is the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Children’s reported that since school started, those cases have increased significantly.
“We have seen a lot of enteroviruses, just respiratory type stuff, and we know at Children’s Hospital, that’s our No.1 admission on a regular respiratory season, so we are concerned on how the flu is going to affect just our normal respiratory time,” Delphene Noland, manager of infection prevention and control at Children’s said.
Another surge of RSV cases is possible over the next few months because the colder weather could lend itself to that, health experts say.
Symptoms of both flu and RSV are similar, although RSV affects smaller children. Those symptoms include fever, runny nose and coughing. Parents are advised to treat their children at home but to contact a healthcare professional if symptoms are severe.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email erica.thomas@1819news.com.
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