MACON, Ga. — As temperatures continue to drop, flu season approaches and state data shows children 4 and under are being hit the hardest.
Ali Kamran, a physician with Piedmont Macon North Hospital, says they’ve seen visits ramp up.
"We’re seeing an uptick in all types of viral illnesses, which would include the flu, especially now that kids are in closer quarters and schools are back open. Holiday season is here and people are in close contact, so you expect viral illnesses like flu to have an uptick," he said.
State data shows kids 4 and under account for nearly 40% of the more than 17,000 flu-related doctor visits in Georgia so far this season.
Flu visits are currently up nearly 60% this year compared to this same time last year.
"Flu is kind of a difficult disease to discern from other viral illnesses cause they’re all going to present similarly with cough, fever, chills. Flu tends to be a little more dramatic in terms of full-body myalgias, fevers, chills, cough,” he said.
Flu season typically peaks around January to February before dipping back down in the spring, but Kamran says you should still take precautions.
"These things can progress to something very severe and they should not be taken very lightly, so you want to do all possible things to protect yourself, your loved ones, because there are those cases where things can dramatically go in the wrong direction," he warned.