SAN ANTONIO – For the past few years, the flu was held in check but it’s making a comeback, according to a pediatrician with the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio.
At the same time, RSV, strep and other illnesses are going around.
Courtney Smith, a pediatrician at The Children’s Hospital Of San Antonio, said her clinic is seeing more children and adults coming in sick with the flu.
“We’re seeing a lot more kids in the clinic sick with symptoms that look very similar to each other. A wet cough and congestion and fever can go along with a lot of these different viruses. And so seeing all of these at once is definitely made our clinic a lot busier” Smith said.
Christus Health System reported the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio emergency rooms are filling up 20% to 25% above normal.
“They’ve jumped up much higher, much sooner. So it took a lot of people by surprise that we were seeing these high number” Smith said.
The increase in patients is due to flu, RSV, strep and several other illnesses spreading.
“A lot of people who usually get their flu vaccines every year hadn’t gotten it yet by the time they actually got exposed to the flu. So we’re still really encouraging all of our patients and all of our families to get their flu shots,” Smith said.