Though flu cases in Massachusetts rank the states estimated severity of the illness as low, according to the CDC, the state is seeing an early uptick this season in cases, along with soaring RSV infections among children and ever-present COVID rates, according to a Massachusetts pediatrician, Boston 25 reported.
Dr. Mark Blumenthal, interim chairman of Pediatrics at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, spoke to the outlet in regards to how to tell the difference between the three big illnesses plaguing Americans this season.Read more: Mass. flu cases rising early this year as nearby states see flu spikes
We expect this year to be a pretty busy year for viruses, Blumenthal told the outlet.
With the pandemic, the seasonality of viruses has kind of changed, so typically you might see something like hand-foot-mouth in the summer, RSV in the winter, flu in the winter, and those have all kind of changed more recently, Blumenthal said.
The outlet reported that the doctor said RSV cases have been very high and spread early this season, and that he expected COVID cases to rise as well.
Peoples immune system probably took a break during COVID as everyone was kind of masked up and not going out, Blumenthal told the outlet. Now its kind of coming back a little bit with a vengeance.Read more: Turkeys expected to be more expensive but smaller this Thanksgiving
The differences in symptoms between COVID, RSV and the flu are minimal, Blumenthal said, since they all present with symptoms like a runny nose, cough and fever.What the CDC and Mayo Clinic say
The main difference between COVID and the flu is the potential loss or change in taste and smell when infected with COVID, though it is rare there is a chance that same symptom could occur with the flu, according to Mayo Clinic.
If a person has COVID-19, it could take them longer from the time of infection to experience symptoms than if they have flu, the CDC wrote.
Getting a headache from a cold is rare, the Mayo Clinic said, while diarrhea and nausea or vomiting never occur with a cold, though all three of those symptoms usually or sometimes present with COVID.
Adults who contract RSV often present with mild cold-like symptoms, the CDC said, but the virus can be serious for adults over 65 years old, those with chronic heart and lung diseases and with weakened immune systems. RSV has been on the rise among children, Blumenthal told Boston 25, and the CDC reported theres been a nationwide increase in RSV detections and hospitalizations.Read more: COVID-flu combination vaccine being studied by Pfizer, BioNTech
Its a serious illness for infants as well, and parents are concerned for their childrens health even Boston Childrens Hospital started postponing elective surgeries earlier this month, warning families about significant wait times for hospital beds because of illnesses like RSV well before the typical flu season even began, Boston 25 reported.
The CDC said RSVs main symptoms include a runny nose, a decrease in appetite, coughing, sneezing, a fever and wheezing. The early symptoms in children are a runny nose, a decrease in appetite and a cough, the CDC said, and the illness almost always presents with obvious symptoms in infants.Impact on infants and young children
In very young infants less than 6 months old the CDC said irritability, decreased activity, a decreased appetite and apnea, or pauses in breathing for more than 10 seconds, are common symptoms, but a fever does not always present itself.
RSV can lead to serious illness in infants, such as pneumonia or bronchiolitis, the CDC said, and one to two out of every 100 children younger than 6 months of age with RSV infection may need to be hospitalized.Read more: Worcester officials renew mask advisory over COVID, RSV and flu season concerns
Its definitely a major concern especially if you have a young baby because RSV, it can morph really quickly, it could seem like mild symptoms and then all of a sudden youre going into respiratory distress, Westwood mother of three Melissa Levin told Boston 25.
Her 7-month-old son, Aidan, started daycare, and Levin told the station that hes already been exposed to RSV and now has a double ear infection.
Socialization and childcare is really key for us as dual working parents, we need to have childcare, so daycare made the most sense, but then we also know that theres high exposure, Levin told Boston 25.
Along with the flu, colds, COVID and RSV to worry about, Blumenthal said enterovirus is expected to make a comeback this year.
About every other year, enterovirus can cause this ascending-paralytic-type or weakness-type syndrome, and 2022 is one of those years were expecting that, Blumenthal told the outlet.
However, Blumenthal also said those severe cases are rare, and, If were going to live our life, then youre going to be exposed, so I think part of it is just recognizing that your child will get sick and thats okay, according to the outlet.