for children Louisiana hospitals report higher admissions ahead of normal winter surge this year. And while COVID-19 is still present, SARS-CoV-2 has not driven most hospital admissions and ER visits, according to New Orleans Children’s Hospital data.
The viruses that pediatricians most often pop up are:
rhinoviruses and enteroviruses
These viruses usually cause cold-related symptoms. The two viruses cause similar symptoms and are indistinguishable from each other by tests used in most hospitals.
Tests for these two viruses at two major children’s hospitals in New Orleans and Baton Rouge have a 40% to 50% chance of testing positive, accounting for most of the recent surge in illness. I’m here.
These viruses are usually not serious in healthy children and do not cause many hospital or ICU admissions. Pediatricians say children can usually recover at home.
was an enterovirus Subject to Federal Health Advisory Earlier this month, due to an increase in cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted that a particular strain of enterovirus called D68 causes more serious illness, including acute flaccid myelitis. Most hospitals do not have tests sophisticated enough to identify the strain of enterovirus a patient carries.
Influenza A
Flu season usually begins in October, but at New Orleans Children’s Hospital, Louisiana’s largest children’s hospital, about 1 in 5 patients tested has tested positive for the flu. Doctors recommend that children over the age of 6 months get their flu vaccine by the end of October each year.
About 8% of the population gets the flu each season, according to the CDC. The prevalence in children is slightly higher, about 9.3%. In particularly bad flu years, the incidence in children under 4 years of age has reached about 19%.
adenovirus
At New Orleans Children’s Hospital, about one in ten tests came back positive for adenovirus. Adenoviruses cause cold-like symptoms such as fever, sore throat, pneumonia, conjunctivitis, and sometimes stomach problems.
I’m also a federal health authority.Investigating the relationship between adenoviral infection and liver inflammation Cause unknown in some children.
RSV
RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, is the disease causing more serious hospitalizations, including intensive care units, according to pediatricians.At Baton Rouge Children’s Hospital, the positive test rate has risen to 21% in recent weeks. has reached
Newborns and children under 6 months of age are most at risk of severe cases of RSV. Other young children with pre-existing lung problems or immune system problems are also at higher risk.
Nearly all children encounter RSV infection by the age of two. Children under 6 months of age with RSV infection require hospitalization from 1 to 2 of her 100. Most improve and are discharged in a few days with supportive care.
COVID
COVID-19 is still occurring among children, although not as high as it used to be. At New Orleans Children’s Hospital, about 2% of his COVID tests have come back positive in recent weeks.
Children over the age of 6 months are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, but the majority of young children in Louisiana are not vaccinated. Nearly 2% of children under 4 in the state have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
To avoid most respiratory illnesses, CDC recommends the following precautions:
- Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for 20 seconds.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Avoid close contact such as kissing, hugging, sharing cups and utensils with sick people, and avoid them when you are sick.
- Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue or shirt sleeve instead of your hands.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces such as toys and doorknobs, especially if someone is sick.
- Please stay home when you are sick.
- If you have respiratory symptoms, consider wearing a mask around others.
- Call your healthcare provider right away if you or your child have trouble breathing or start having sudden onset of weakness in a limb.
- If you or your child have asthma, make sure you or your child is following the latest Asthma Action Plan.
- Keep up to date with all recommended vaccines.
