Paediatric specialists issue urgent guidelines following the deaths of two children from flu-related symptoms

Carla Bowes, of Sydenham, told the POST this week that her son, 8-year-old Liam, died last Wednesday after initially having flu-like symptoms.

Paediatric specialists are urging parents to seek immediate emergency treatment if their children experience difficulty breathing, high fevers, or diarrhoea and vomiting following the recent deaths of two children who presented with severe flu-like symptoms.

Dr Ashendri Pillay, a paediatric infectious diseases specialist at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, said respiratory viruses circulating in Durban include influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and SARS-CoV-2.

Pillay, head of the hospital’s Paediatric Infectious Diseases Unit, said they have noticed an overlap of symptoms - including fever, nasal congestion, cough, and sneezing - between influenza, RSV and SARS-CoV-2.

RSV is highly-contagious and commonly causes bronchiolitis and pneumonia in young children and infants.