Watch Out for Swine Flu
September 1st, 2009 by Susan KirsteinFlu season doesn’t typically begin until October, but if you’ve got a child in school, you’ve probably been hearing a lot about the H1N1 flu virus. Often called swine flu, it’s been running rampant in Memphis.
The emergency room at LeBonheur Children’s Medical Center, which typically treats about 160 patients a day, last week soared to 300, and many were cases of the flu. “We are very concerned with the numbers that we have sufficient capacity at LeBonheur to treat the very ill patients,” says Dr. Barry Gilmore, medical director of the hospital’s emergency department. “We need to be sure that we have the capacity to serve the needs of the community.”
Dr. Keith English, medical director of infections disease at Le Bonheur, recommends parents first contact their pediatrician for flu treatment. Children should only be brought to the ER when serious symptoms arise, like very high fever, breathing difficulties, and flu-like symptoms that improve before suddenly growing worse.
“Pretty much everything that is circulating right now, is the H1N1 virus,” says English. The symptoms of this new flu aren’t more severe than the typical seasonal flu, however, the H1N1 seems to be affecting younger people — those between 5 and 25.
“This virus is affecting more children than adults, probably because elderly adults have some partial immunity to this virus based on their exposure to similar viruses 40 or 50 years ago,” says English. Unfortunately, that means a more people are susceptible to this flu strain.
While the seasonal flu can affect 5 to 20 percent of the population each year, this flu has the potential to infect 40 to 70 percent. If your child becomes sick, give him plenty of fluids, bed rest, and keep him away from others. Make sure family members wash hands with soap and water to curb the spread of germs.
Vaccine is available nw for the seasonal flu; H1N1 flu vaccine is expected to be on-hand mid-October.
Tags: child health, swine flu