4 Childhood Illnesses Surge After School Return as CDC Logged 280 Pediatric Flu Deaths
Updated
Updated · NBC Chicago · Aug 24
4 Childhood Illnesses Surge After School Return as CDC Logged 280 Pediatric Flu Deaths
3 articles · Updated · NBC Chicago · Aug 24
Summary
G-I bugs, hand-foot-and-mouth disease, strep throat and mono are rising among children just after the school year begins, in what a Northwestern Medicine pediatrician called an "in-between" season alongside routine colds and coughs.
Classrooms, shared supplies, coat racks and water bottles are accelerating spread because children are suddenly exposed to many more germs through close contact, Dr. Anita Chandra-Puri said.
Frequent handwashing, and even changing younger children's clothes after school, can help limit transmission; children with a fever, early cough or general malaise should stay home, she said.
Flu shots are already available and should be given by Halloween, Chandra-Puri said, after the CDC recorded more than 280 pediatric flu deaths in the severe 2024-25 season — a non-pandemic record since 2007.