It only seems like everyone is sick

For parents and children alike, a happy new year often brings the unhappy season for colds and flu.

But though several Tampa Bay area pediatricians saw a surge in sick kids at the beginning of January, many doctors report fewer than expected complaints.

National statistics show that Florida is faring better than most.

"I don't think we have a real rampage yet," says Dr. H. James Brownlee Jr., a family practitioner and professor at the University of South Florida College of Medicine.

Six counties in the state, most of them in South Florida, reported higher than expected numbers of patients with flu symptoms in late December and the first week of January. Florida was among 22 states with "sporadic" cases of flu, or about 1.5 percent of all patients who visited their doctor, compared with 2 percent nationally, according to figures collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Brownlee, anticipating the same holiday rush of patients as in 2001, says that extra staff members were scheduled at the USF clinic this season but were not needed. Patient visits could pick up as viruses shared over the holidays finish the typical 10-day to two-week incubation period, he says.

"You have family members who come for Thanksgiving, and they have brought the crud off the plane, so seven to 10 days after Thanksgiving it flares up," he says. The same pattern accompanies Christmas and New Year's, when groups of people share hugs, handshakes and viruses.

The flu and colds are respiratory infections caused by viruses. An average adult will get the illnesses one to three times a year, children more often, the CDC reports.

Influenza is more dangerous because its complications can lead to pneumonia.

The good news is that the strains of Influenza A and B making the rounds are among those targeted in this winter's formulation of flu vaccine. Experts say that it is not too late to get a flu shot. The flu season runs from November through March or April, and over the past 20 years, the most cases have occurred in January and February.

Is it a cold or the flu? The symptoms:

Fever

• COLD: Rare in adults and older children but can go as high as 102 degrees in infants and small children.
• FLU: Usually 102 degrees but can go to 104 degrees; typically lasts three to four days.

Headache

• COLD: Rare.
• FLU: Sudden onset, can be severe.

Muscle aches

• COLD: Mild.
• FLU: Usual, often severe.

Tiredness, weakness

• COLD: Mild.
• FLU: Can last two or more weeks.

Extreme exhaustion

• COLD: Never.
• FLU: Sudden onset, can be severe.

Runny nose

• COLD: Often.
• FLU: Sometimes.

Sneezing

• COLD: Often.
• FLU: Sometimes.

Sore throat

• COLD: Often.
• FLU: Sometimes.

Cough

• COLD: Mild, hacking cough.
• FLU: Usually, can become severe.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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