What respiratory illnesses are experts seeing around our area?
EVANS, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - With temperatures changing, every sniffle comes with a question. Is it the flu, COVID, or something else?
In Columbia County schools, their main concern in the classroom is the flu.
A map by the CDC shows where the highest level of spread is around the country. Georgia and South Carolina are in dark red, which represents a high level of flu activity.
Here’s what health officials are keeping an eye out for the most this year. The flu is a big concern here in Georgia.
The bad news is the season started early health leaders with the Columbia County School District say it lasts until March.
While it isn’t having a drastic impact on school attendance right now, they anticipate that will change, and flu cases will continue to increase.
“We’re early in the season right now, so probably in the next week or so, we will see some increased absences,” said the Director of School Health, Columbia County School District, Lisa Whitlock.
Just like how the season started, symptoms are setting in quickly.
“Parents send them to school and within an hour or so of them starting to feel like their throat will start hurting, then they will start sneezing, and then their fever spikes,” she said.
She says teachers are good about monitoring students who may not feel well, and the flu is not the only thing going around the community.
“RSV is a virus that is very widespread in our community and has been for over four to five weeks,” she said.
It mainly is impacting younger students and can be pretty dangerous. But the good news is it isn’t widespread in the classrooms.
“We have seen it in our pre-K, and kindergarten populations but not so that it’s alarming numbers,” said Whitlock.
Whether it’s RSV or the flu, she says there are steps parents can take to keep their kids healthy this season.
“Wash your hands, cover when you cough, and use a tissue when you sneeze. That’s ways to protect yourself,” said Whitlock. “If you are ill, please stay home. That keeps it from spreading to other kids in the class.”
She says it is important for parents to pay close attention to how their kids are feeling, and she encourages everyone to get a flu shot for the most protection against it because the season will likely last until March.
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