Doctors, schools brace for wave of flu and upper respiratory illnesses | News

Seasonal flu and upper respiratory illnesses are on the rise across Kentucky and the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Baptist Health Paducah pediatrician Dr. Caitlyn Cecil said the younger demographic is particularly vulnerable, though everyone is susceptible.

“We’re mostly seeing the school-age kids getting these infections, as well as the younger siblings, but really anybody’s at risk,” Cecil said. “We’re seeing a lot of flu, strep and upper respiratory infections right now… People catch that from family gatherings this time of year, but then it certainly spreads through daycares and school environments.”

Cecil said other upper respiratory illnesses spreading right now are respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human metapneumovirus, adenovirus and the “flu-like illness” parainfluenza.

As children return to school from winter break, Cecil said “you can’t be too cautious” in terms of preventative measures such as sanitation. She also said that proper nutrition, hydration and rest can prepare the body to fight infection.

“It is important that we wash our hands throughout the day, especially before eating or playing,” Cecil said. “It’s important that we offer our kids nutritious meals, make sure they drink plenty of water and make sure they get a good sleep at night. All those things will get their bodies ready for facing viral illnesses, which they’ll probably encounter.”

Upon exposure, Cecil said that children and adults can develop symptoms in roughly three to five days. She said parents should be vigilant for fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, muscle aches, headaches and fatigue. She said to alleviate the discomfort through over-the-counter medications like Tylenol and Motrin.

“If your child is having a sore throat and they’re not eating well, or they just seem very dull and tired, then certainly treat them as needed with Tylenol or Motrin, also encouraging that they stay hydrated,” Cecil said. “If they’re not wanting to drink, make sure that you’re at least offering some sort of fluids, at least a little bit every hour.”

For best protection, the CDC recommends yearly flu shots for everyone 6 months and older, especially high-risk children. Cecil echoed that “it’s not too late to get a flu shot.” With immunization, she said there’s still potential to contract either variant of the flu, but it will likely be a “milder case.”

“We’ve hit our first wave of flu, which is typically flu A, and we anticipate that later in the season we’ll hit flu B,” Cecil said. “Typically, the flu vaccine will prevent severe complications. Even if the flu vaccine doesn’t keep you from getting it, it is very effective at keeping you from getting complications.”

In terms of the severity of the flu season, Cecil said that “some years are worse than others” and it “comes in waves.” She said a decrease of vaccinations could have contributed to last year’s season and may continue to affect the current one.

“Last year’s flu season was actually terrible. It was probably one of the worst that I’ve seen,” Cecil said. “This year’s flu season is gearing up to be about that. Last year in the United States, there were over 200 kids that died from complications of the flu, half of those kids being otherwise healthy.”

The Kentucky Department for Public Health confirmed the state’s first pediatric flu death of the season on Dec. 30 in Kenton County. Cecil said flu A is typically not dangerous for most children, and the illness will resolve “in a few days.” Nonetheless, she advised parents to monitor their children and seek medical attention if complications arise.

“Occasionally, some kids can get really sick with the flu,” Cecil said. “If they can’t stay hydrated or just cannot get out of bed, then they need to be evaluated and make sure that they don’t have serious complications of the flu, which can happen.”

Cecil said children are no longer contagious and can return to school once they have been fever-free without medication for at least 24 hours, or “ideally closer to 48 hours.” She stressed the importance of precautions in highly populated spaces like schools.

“Ultimately, kids spread germs, and this is part of life,” Cecil said. “It’s nothing to be overly scared of, but we do need to recognize that we’re going to be exposed to these respiratory illnesses, especially with the back-to-school season, so we just have to be as safe as possible.”

Todd Bowland and Lisa O’Bryan, janitors at Sharpe Elementary School in Benton, said they strive to mitigate the spread of flu and upper respiratory illnesses. Bowland said they “keep the germs down” by cleaning classrooms, hallways, bathrooms and other areas daily, along with encouraging clean hands by keeping supplies stocked.

“The biggest focus is the bathrooms, but then besides that, we try to stay on top of the tables, desktops, tabletops and anywhere the kids are putting their hands constantly,” Bowland said. “We keep the hand sanitizers full for the teachers, and then there’s several places around the school where there are hand sanitizers on the walls. Then, same with the bathrooms, we make sure there’s soap and towels.”

“I make sure I’m sanitizing everything. If you’ve got sick kids in an area, then other kids are going to come in, and eventually they’re going to get it too,” O’Bryan added. “ When they come to lunch, we’re going into their rooms even after they’ve been sanitized in the morning. We want to make sure that when they come back they’ve got a clean classroom.”

During flu season, O’Bryan said “a lot of coughing and sneezing” circulates throughout the school. She said janitors directly address classrooms with sick children to deter further infection.

“We’ll take extra special care if we find out what class that child is in, and if they’re not in that class at the time, we’ll go in that classroom and sanitize everything,” O’Bryan said. “It seems like the winter months are the worst for here, so we just really hit it hard during the winter.”

Bowland said their efforts have proven effective, and the janitorial team hopes to maintain a safe educational environment for children.

“You’re always going to have a few that get sick. That’s part of it, but it seemed like we did pretty good last year,” Bowland said. “Attendance stayed up and teachers seemed to notice that the kids weren’t getting as sick, so I think we’re doing a decent job. We just try to stay on top of it.”