Sudden spike in walking pneumonia concerns SWLA pediatricians

5 hours ago

KPLC

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - It’s not uncommon to hear your kids cough more as the school year goes on, but what if that cough lingers a little too long?

“Right now, we’re seeing lots of kids with snotty noses and coughs. For most of those kids, if they’re [running] fever, the fever is just in the first day or two,” said Dr. Albert Richert Jr., a pediatrician and board member of CHRISTUS Ochsner.

But for some, it could be a more severe respiratory infection.

The term “walking pneumonia” got its name because it is a milder strain of the pneumonia infection, but many won’t realize it is not the common cold until days after they’re infected.

The Centers for Disease Control put out an alert recently due to the unusual increase of this infection at this time of year.

It usually doesn’t require bed rest or hospitalization, but the cough can linger for weeks, or even months.

Dr. Richert said that this increase is abnormal.

“It was interesting, in that, a lot of us pediatricians did notice a higher than usual number of pneumonia cases during the summer, we don’t typically see a whole lot of illnesses in the summertime, but we did notice it here,” said Dr. Richert.

Symptoms of the infection include fever, sore throat, strong cough, and more.

The infection can normally be treated with antibiotics, but for kids who have prior illnesses, this infection can lead to a more serious battle.

“Someone, such as a child with sickle cell disease, if they get pneumonia, it can progress very rapidly and become very severe. Some children with genetic conditions such as Down syndrome get much sicker and can be more difficult to treat,” said Dr. Richert.

Experts aren’t sure what’s causing the rise in cases, but are working towards finding out.