ATLANTA — The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists the state of Georgia as high for the spread of respiratory viruses like RSV or the flu.
But that’s better than the “very high” range earlier this month.
Dr. Andrew Thornton with Wellstar told Channel 2’s Linda Stouffer that RSV is one virus to keep your eye on.
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“It can affect older adults too, particularly over age 65,” Dr. Thornton said. “But younger babies in particular are vulnerable to RSV. It tends to cause congestion, runny nose, cough and fever, and sometimes it can cause trouble breathing.”
He says a home test can confirm which virus you have. The Food and Drug Administration cleared a new home test that includes flu, COVID-19 and RSV.
But you may need a doctor to with prescriptions or help diagnose younger children.
“Because flu is high risk in pediatric patients, particularly age two and under, we do recommend if your child has a fever or is acting fussy or not feeding normally, definitely if they’re having any respiratory difficulty, we would definitely recommend you get the child checked for the flu,” Dr. Thornton said.
He says there’s still time to get a flu shot if you haven’t yet. And he says it’s especially important for children to get one.
“In fact, 90% of the pediatric deaths this year have occurred in pediatric patients who are not fully vaccinated for the flu,” Dr. Thornton said.
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