NORTH EAST — A steady stream of young children has arrived at UPMC Hamot’s Vineyard Primary Care office in recent weeks with similar symptoms: fever, coughing, and either a stuffed or runny nose.
Swab tests have revealed some of these children have RSV, while others have COVID-19 or the flu as all three viruses continue to circulate in Erie County and nationwide.
More:Coughing, congestion and sore throats: Do Erie residents have COVID-19, RSV or the flu?
“We have certainly seen more sick children in the last couple of weeks,” said Dr. Danielle Mehlenbacher, a family physician with the North East practice. “It’s mostly kids five and younger. We’re seeing a lot of RSV, we’re seeing more flu and we’re still seeing some COVID.”
Erie County’s weekly number of flu cases continued to surge, from 160 cases between Oct. 30-Nov. 5 to 257 cases between Nov. 6-12 — an increase of 61%, according to the Erie County Department of Health. RSV cases also rose during that time, from 249 to 277.
More:Erie County sees record number of RSV cases, as flu also surges
Symptoms look the same
Although COVID-19 cases declined for the second straight week, with 188 cases reported in the county from Nov. 9-15, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, it’s no surprise that Mehlenbacher is seeing all three viruses among her patients.
“You really can’t tell in some cases which virus it is without doing the (COVID-19/flu/RSV) swab test,” Mehlenbacher said. “They all look the same with the fever and coughing, and stuffed or runny noses. Then we also have other patients with severe colds that aren’t COVID or RSV.”
Flu’s most well-known symptoms are a high fever and the feeling you have been “hit by a truck,” feeling like you can’t get out of bed or off the couch. But some people who get the flu don’t suffer such severe symptoms, especially if it is type B flu or they have received a flu shot.
“When you feel that way, it’s almost always influenza — not the others (even COVID) — but many people with flu don’t feel that badly,” said Dr. Howard Nadworny, a Saint Vincent Hospital infectious diseases specialist and county health department adviser.
“There’s a lot of overlap between symptoms from rhinovirus (common cold, although it primarily causes viral sinusitis), RSV, COVID, influenza, mycoplasma (a bacteria) and allergy symptoms, which is why I wish there was a readily available test for several of these — especially since flu and COVID are treatable.”
By the numbers
Despite all the viruses circulating in the county, it has not yet sparked a surge in hospitalizations. Only eight of the county’s 538 flu cases and 39 of the 1,494 RSV cases so far this season have required a hospital stay, according to the county health department.
The county’s average daily number of COVID-19 hospitalizations has declined over the past two weeks from an average of 34.3 a day to 25.7, the state health department reported.
“Our numbers have been pretty stable,” said Dr. Christopher Clark, Saint Vincent president. “We’re seeing about 20-25 COVID admissions a week. And we’ve had five admissions in November for flu … and 12 for RSV. Our children with RSV have all either been discharged right from the emergency department or after a short stay in the hospital.”
Saint Vincent has transferred any children with RSV to larger hospitals, such as UPMC’s Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Some children’s hospitals in the northeastern U.S. report they are nearly filled with RSV patients.
Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh erected a tent a couple of weeks ago to accommodate its large number of RSV patients.
“We have transferred children for other reasons and have not had any problems,” Clark said.
Mehlenbacher said families can take several precautions to reduce their risk of catching any of these viral infections over the holidays.
One is to get everyone fully vaccinated against COVID and the flu. Vaccine is available at most physician offices, chain pharmacies and at the LECOM Center for Health & Aging, 3910 Schaper Ave.
“As for RSV, it’s so difficult during the holiday season when everyone gathers and people want to pick up the little ones,” Mehlenbacher said. “You need to make sure people wash their hands and practice good hygiene. If someone is coughing or has cold-like symptoms, they need to take precautions.”
More:RSV season strikes early again as Erie hospitals see sick babies. Here are the symptoms
Contact David Bruce at dbruce@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNBruce.
Erie County’s weekly number of flu cases:
- Nov. 6-12 — 257
- Oct. 30-Nov. 5 — 160
- Oct. 23-29 — 87
- Oct. 16-22 — 26
- Oct. 9-15 — 5
- Oct. 2-8 — 3
Source: Erie County Department of Health
