What’s Going Around: RSV, strep, flu, stomach bug
WellSpan Pediatric Medicine Physicians across the Midstate are seeing RSV, croup, bronchiolitis and flu.
The providers at UPMC Children’s Community Pediatrics in York and Spring Grove are continuing to see RSV, strep throat and viral illness this week. They are also seeing a stomach bug.
The CVS MinuteClinic in York reports the flu and viral bronchitis this week.
Pediatricians at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital continue to see a lot of RSV, some cases of COVID, some cases of the flu, strep throat, upper respiratory infections, bronchitis and stomach bugs.
Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health Physicians Roseville Pediatrics says RSV is still the most common virus they are seeing, although they saw a sharp increase in strep cases this week.
The flu and stomach bug have also been on the rise. They have seen a bit more croup in the last week and asthmatics have been having a rough time with the viral load in the community. They have seen an increase in asthma exacerbations as a result.
Dr. Joan Thode offered the following advice about strep and sore throats:
“Strep throat is caused by a bacteria called streptococcus, which is highly contagious and common especially in the winter months. While the typical clinical picture is a bad sore throat, other common symptoms of a strep infection include headache and belly pain, which often includes nausea and vomiting, but not diarrhea.
In older kids and adults, a strep infection can mimic symptoms of the flu, with fevers, body aches and fatigue. The only way to definitively differentiate the flu from strep is by a swab.
Strep does warrant treatment with antibiotics. We do not treat for strep without testing with a swab, however, because the antibiotic that would treat strep could cause bad side effects or bacterial resistance in the context of the other diagnoses. It takes an office visit to put your child’s symptoms together with the physical exam and possibly an additional swab to make an accurate diagnosis.
Dangerous symptoms to watch for that warrant an immediate call to the doctor: difficulty swallowing to the point where your child is drooling because they cannot swallow their saliva; severe throat pain that is only on one side of the throat that causes their voice to become very whispery; sore throat accompanied by distressed breathing or the child’s feeling like they can’t inhale enough air.”
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