TAMPA, Fla. — “We’re seeing a lot of flu patients. Predominately people are testing positive for the Influenza B strain,” said Dr. Nkem Uzo with AdventHealth.
An uptick in community circulation this late in the spring is unusual.
Doctors believe it’s due to waning immunity from last fall’s vaccines and fewer people getting vaccinated altogether since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Because of the decrease in the vaccination and immunization rate for the flu, that’s why it’s now going all the way into May. So this has been for the last two years,” said Uzo.
Flu symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting, nausea, body aches, runny nose and congestion.
Uzo said more kids are testing positive for the flu than any other group right now.
“We’re seeing a lot of children with the flu. They typically come in with a very high fever, bad headaches, body aches. With the children, the younger ones less than five, we’re seeing nausea and vomiting in them as well,” said Uzo.
If you notice any of these symptoms, Uzo encourages families to come in as soon as possible because there’s only a short window of time that the antiviral medication will work.
“It’s good that parents are bringing them in early, within two to three days, so we’re able to test them, get the diagnosis and definitely start them on the anti-viral,” said Uzo.
Doctors encourage people to wash their hands often and avoid close contact with anyone who’s sick to stay healthy.
