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Right now what’s going around Central Texas is mainly different cold varieties.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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We’re still in the heart of cold, flu and allergy season\u00a0in Central Texas. We asked local clinics what viruses and infections they are seeing in patients right now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The no-name respiratory virus<\/p>\n
Boring old common colds that don’t have fancy names are the thing doctors are seeing most often. Doctors are swabbing them for flu and\u00a0COVID, but they come back negative, said Dr. Cara Lye, a pediatrician with Austin Regional Clinic in Bee Cave.<\/p>\n
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Sometimes these colds come with a lingering cough. After two weeks of a cough or any symptoms that aren’t going away or are worsening, you should see a doctor to rule out another kind of infection. Viruses can lead to pneumonia, or an ear or sinus infection that would need further treatment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Monica Ortiz receives her flu vaccination from Rochelle Guyse, a pharmacy manager at a South Austin CVS. Right now flu B is having a moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Is flu season over?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not yet, though the cases continue to decrease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention marks Texas as having moderate cases of flu, down from high and very high earlier this year. Central Texas has a moderate number of flu cases in local emergency rooms, but the community spread is considered low.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n What has changed is the type of flu, said Dr. Natalie\u00a0Tarrant, a pediatrician at Texas Children’s Hospital in Austin. Recently, she’s seen what she calls “an explosion” of flu B instead of flu A, which had been dominant and included the subtype of H3N2. Flu B typically happens later in the season. This year is following that pattern.<\/p>\n The symptoms are very much the same: fever, body aches, runny or stuffy nose, cough, chest congestion, headache, sore throat, fatigue, sweating and chills, but some people also have experienced nausea, diarrhea and stomach pain.<\/p>\n Some of the patients who are coming in with flu B now are the same people who were in clinics for flu A in December and January, Tarrant said, reiterating that getting one type of flu doesn’t save you from getting a different type of flu in the same season.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n This year’s flu shot wasn’t as effective at preventing flu, but it continues to prevent severe illness and death. Lye has seen her patients who have had the flu shot bounce back\u00a0more quickly\u00a0and be back in school sooner than patients who have not\u00a0been vaccinated.<\/p>\n Flu, if caught early, can be treated with antiviral medications to lessen symptoms and their duration.\u00a0<\/p>\n What other illnesses are out there?<\/p>\n RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) has moderate levels in the community<\/a>, but a low number of cases in the local emergency rooms. Tarrant has had to send some younger patients with RSV to the hospital this season. Because there are now vaccines for babies, pregnant women and older people, there has been fewer serious cases in recent years, Lye and\u00a0Tarrant both said. Lye worked in hospitals before coming to Austin Regional Clinic and said\u00a080% of the babies in the hospital over the winter would be there for RSV before the vaccine was available. Now when the vaccinated babies get RSV, it’s been more like a cold,\u00a0she said, and they often don’t end up in the hospital.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Strep is having it’s typical run during the school year. It tends to happen in bigger kids and adults instead of the very young. Strep is known for its very sore throat without a cough, but with a fever. Some kids will have different\u00a0symptoms. including stomach pain or vomiting, Lye said. Because of that variance, Lye tests for strep even when there isn’t a sore throat. Strep can show up in other places than the throat, including in a skin rash around the mouth and nose known as impetigo, and as an angry-looking rash around the anus. Because strep is a bacterium, antibiotics are needed to prevent it from affecting vital organs like the heart.<\/p>\n Croup cases show up during the winter flu season and are marked by a barking cough, usually in toddlers. Breathing treatments and steam help lessen the cough.\u00a0<\/p>\n Whooping cough (pertussis) had a resurgence in the fall, <\/a>but has been quieter this winter. This vaccine-preventable disease has a cough with a “whoop” at the end. Because it’s a highly infectious disease and is vaccine-preventable, doctors have to report it to the local public health department. Schools are expected to alert families if there has been a case. The danger with pertussis is the cough that can linger for weeks to months and difficulty breathing. It is particularly dangerous for infants.<\/p>\n Norovirus,<\/a> which is known for its intense diarrhea and vomiting, definitely was circulating\u00a0this fall, but cases have fallen recently. When it does emerge, it happens in clusters and quickly goes through families and even schools.\u00a0Lye expects to see another spike in stomach viruses like the norovirus as the weather warms up in spring and summer.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n We’re not testing people as often for COVID-19 like we did in 2020. This winter has been the first winter since 2020\u00a0without a COVID-19 spike.<\/p>\n Ana Ramirez\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n COVID-19\u00a0has been low to very low all season in every aspect. <\/a>The reason: We aren’t testing for it as often as we once did, Lye said. Also, our bodies have adapted to what was a novel virus and the virus has mutated, but hasn’t mutated as rapidly as the flu does every year, said St. David’s Medical Center’s infectious disease specialist Dr. Brian Metzger. Whether we have immunity from previous infections or from vaccines or a combination of both, our bodies are handling the disease. Of course, people who have immune system issues, are older or very young, continue to have risks for COVID-19 severe disease or hospitalization.<\/p>\n Mountain ashe juniper trees blow in the wind at Mary Moore Searight Metropolitan Park in Austin in January. Now, other trees have mainly taken over the allergy threat.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n Allergies continue<\/p>\n Often people will think it’s just allergies, but it’s really a virus or something else, Lye said. If you think it’s just allergies, but it’s not going away or corresponding with the allergy counts, you should see a doctor.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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