Dr. Kwang Sik Kim, infectious disease director at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center, said flu admissions appear to have peaked in late January and early February. But he cautioned that it's too early to rule out another spike.
Levy, who heads the Maryland chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the five to 10 flu victims he sees in a single day contrasts with scarcely more than 10 in the entire season last year.
"The kids have been pretty sick," Levy said. "They've had high fevers typically, 102 to 104, fevers that are not terribly [responsive] to anti-fever medications." He tells parents to give acetaminophen, widely marketed as Tylenol, to help their children feel more comfortable, not necessarily to reduce the fever.
Other than that, he advises parents to "push fluids" to prevent their children from becoming dehydrated, use humidifiers or vaporizers, and keep youngsters home from school until they have been free of fever for at least a day. Even then, they might feel listless for another week.
Levy's young patients are the target of yesterday's proposal by a government advisory board to expand flu shots to every youngster between 6 months and 18 years of age. The change would protect not only the children, but also the adults who so often catch flu from youngsters.
Despite the current vaccine's deficiencies, doctors generally recommend vaccination even at this late date. The flu season, which begins in October, can stretch into May, and they say getting vaccinated is better than doing nothing.
"What I can say, interestingly, is that virtually every child I've seen with the flu in my practice did not get flu vaccine or FluMist," Levy said, using the trade name for a nasal spray vaccine recommended for people 24 months to 49 years old.
"We tend to have short memories and forget this is a typical season," said Allen. And, he said, the true scope of the epidemic won't be known until it finally fizzles out and all cases can be counted.
jonathan.bor@baltsun.com
