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Pediatricians and emergency care centers around Long Island are seeing an unusual increase this summer in the number of children with symptoms of colds and viruses normally reserved for the fall and winter months.
Since many cold symptoms – such as fever, cough, and fatigue – are also possible signs of COVID-19, children are now being tested immediately to rule out illness.
WHAT THERE IS TO KNOW
More and more children are suffering from colds and respiratory viruses that doctors normally see during the summer months.
Health experts believe that the lack of exposure to cold viruses, along with the easing of pandemic restrictions such as wearing masks and social distancing, have fueled the rise in childhood illnesses this summer.
Any child with a symptom of a cold that is also a symptom of COVID-19 such as fever, cough, and fatigue should be evaluated by a doctor immediately and will likely need to be tested for COVID-19.
While the majority of illnesses seen by pediatricians have been relatively mild, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued an alert regarding an increase in respiratory syncytial virus, known as RSV, which can cause bronchiolitis and pneumonia. in young children.
Health experts say the rise in sick children is fueled by the easing of restrictions linked to the COVID-19 pandemic such as the wearing of masks, as well as the reopening of camps and others summer activities. CDC researchers also believe that a lack of “natural exposure” to these viruses in 2020 may have reduced “the population’s immunity” to them.
“We’re definitely seeing an increased spread of the typical cold viruses that we normally see earlier in the year and a lot of croup, which is more of a winter-like virus,” said Dr Eve Meltzer Krief of Huntington Village Pediatrics . “There are a lot of common sore throats. “
In the past, parents were usually told to treat these cold and virus symptoms by giving their children plenty of fluids and getting plenty of rest. Many of those with relatively mild illness did not even see their pediatrician.
“Now we really need to see them immediately, especially given the rise in [COVID-19)] in our area and the increased transmissibility of the delta variant, ”said Meltzer Krief, who serves on the executive board of the Long Island-Brooklyn / Queens chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Dr Christina Johns, senior medical advisor for PM Pediatrics, which has facilities on Long Island and across the country, said pediatric emergency care centers have seen a 50% increase in testing for symptoms, which highlights other circulating viruses that mimic COVID-19 and require assessment.
“We are seeing numbers similar to what we are seeing during our busy winter flu season,” Johns said. “We see a bit of it all… fevers, runny nose, upper respiratory tract infections. It’s really the whole lineup, which has been just amazing.”
In a study released Thursday, CDC researchers looked at how respiratory viruses, including influenza, RSV, parainfluenza viruses, human metapneumoviruses, respiratory adenoviruses, and rhinoviruses / enteroviruses, circulated during the pandemic.
Some of these viruses can cause the common cold, but because they circulated at “historically low levels” during the pandemic – possibly due to precautions such as social distancing and wearing masks – the population’s immunity to it. viruses may have been reduced, the researchers said.
Meltzer Krief said she saw no strep throat or ear infections during the fall and winter months.
“I barely saw children wheezing. All the normal things we see as pediatricians were just missing,” she said.
Dr Neal Shipley, medical director of the New York Market for Northwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care, said they are advising providers to test pediatric patients for RSV.
“We check the oxygen levels of pediatric patients and make sure they don’t have pneumonia,” he said. “It’s important to understand these viruses. It’s not like they go to Florida for the summer and come back in the winter. They aren’t reverse snowbirds.”
Shipley pointed out last winter that most people stay indoors, don’t travel and take precautions such as wearing masks and washing their hands.
“There was a lack of community exposure to RSV over the previous season, which now means we have a whole bunch of kids who probably – especially in young infants – have diminished immunity,” did he declare. “I think this seasonal change is probably due to the relaxation of these control measures and the decrease in immunity in the target population.”
In the study, CDC researchers warned doctors and public health experts to keep an eye on RSV activity and to watch out for more flu and other respiratory viruses.
“Any child with a fever and cough these days should be evaluated for one of many factors, including RSV, COVID, influenza, and other cold viruses,” Shipley said. “In October, the flu will come back. Don’t think that it won’t happen.”
Lisa joined Newsday as a writer in 2019. She previously worked for amNewYork, the New York Daily News and the Asbury Park Press covering politics, government and general missions.
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