Oklahoma flu season has arrived

A lot of parents across eastern Oklahoma are dealing with sick kids right now. <br/><br/>News on 6 reporter Emory Bryan has the story. <br/><br/>Andrew Alonso can laugh about it, but he's sick.

Tuesday, February 8th 2005, 5:40 pm

By: News On 6

A lot of parents across eastern Oklahoma are dealing with sick kids right now.

News on 6 reporter Emory Bryan has the story.

Andrew Alonso can laugh about it, but he's sick. Dr Pat Daley: "Is he coughing at all?" Andrewâ€™s mom, Cecilia Alonso: "Just the runny nose and sore throat and all that good stuff and a cough." Andrew is out of school and so are many of his classmates. Andrew Alonso: "Earlier this morning, I felt weak, couldn't do anything, and felt like sooner or later I was going to barf or something like that."

Pediatrician Doctor Pat Daley has seen a lot of kids that feel worse than Andrew. He's seeing a lot of children with flu and strep throat and RSV - all serious in children, all very contagious. He admitted six kids to the hospital last week for pneumonia. "These kids come in with total body aches, my legs hurt, they feel so bad, my muscles, I've got the cough, sore throat, dizzy, fever, and they look like they have been run over by a car, they look terrible."

What doctor Daley is seeing in his practice is happening all over Tulsa. It's the start of flu season and many of the cases are showing up in children. Fortunately for Andrew - he doesn't have the flu - or strep throat.

Doctor Daley says Andrew has something - but its defined most accurately as the crud - maybe a touch of something worse, but it will go away on its own. Pediatricians and hospitals tell us they're busy with sick children.

So far - the flu cases tracked by the state have mainly been the type A, which was covered by the flu vaccine. It helps to reduce the severity of the flu - and it's not too late to get it.

The Tulsa City-County Health Department still has 600 doses they're giving away for free.