DOZENS of children have been forced to stay home from school because of a spate of viral infections, reports said yesterday.
According to Health Ministry officials, a number of children and infants have recently been infected with the flu, as well as bronchiolitis.
Over the past two weeks, a number of children have been suffering from symptoms including headache, high temperatures, diarrhoea, vomiting and loss of appetite. Several have even been admitted to hospital for 48-hour re-hydration, news reports said.
Because the flu was a viral infection, antibiotics were not being administered, unless there were complications such as sinusitis (inflammation or infection of sinuses), otitis media (an inflammation in the area behind the eardrum that is usually associated with a build-up of fluid) and pneumonia, said Dr. Panayiota Protopapa.
Bronchiolitis is an infection of the small air passages of the lungs, usually caused by Respiratory Syncytial Virus, which brings on an inflammation, with the result that a child has difficulty breathing in and out. It occurs during the first two years of life, peaking at the age of six months, and is most common in the winter and early spring.
The first symptoms are the same as those of a common cold: stuffiness, runny nose, mild cough and loss of appetite. These symptoms last a day or two and are followed by gradually increasing breathing difficulty, characterised by wheezing, rapid, shallow breathing, rapid heartbeat, retractions and cough. A high temperature was not uncommon, said Protopapa.
Since a virus caused bronchiolitis, babies generally got better without any treatment, she said, adding it had been proved that antibiotics did not help.
But, in some cases babies had to be admitted to hospital because symptoms became more severe, said Protopapa.
According to experts, the best thing to do was make the baby as comfortable as possible, to keep its nose clear by using a bulb suction, to encourage drinking fluids and to humidify the air.
In order to help prevent babies from contracting bronchiolitis, experts advise parents to keep them away from smoke, from places where there are a lot of sick children, such as day care centres, and to wash their hands frequently.
Avoiding contact with a virus was a common form of prevention, which was why a number of children were being kept at home these past two weeks, said Dr. Protopapa.
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