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(WHTM) — This week, the providers of UPMC Children’s Community Pediatrics in York and Spring Grove are seeing viral upper respiratory infections, croup, bronchitis, and COVID-19.

WellSpan Pediatric Medicine Physicians across the Midstate are seeing COVID-19 and non-COVID upper respiratory infections.

Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health Physicians Roseville Pediatrics reports a lot of colds this week. They are also still seeing pockets of COVID cases.

They saw an increase in strep throat and croup and ongoing cases of hand, foot, and mouth.

Dr. Joan Thode offered the following advice on strep:

“The typical trifecta of strep syndrome is headache, sore throat and belly pain or nausea and often vomiting. Having two of the three symptoms raises our concern for possible strep. Sometimes the two symptoms portrayed are headache and belly pain; thus, you can have strep throat without a sore throat. This is what makes it a frustrating bacteria to deal with; it doesn’t always follow the rules. If your child shows two or three of these symptoms for more than a day or two, it’s worth bringing them in for medical evaluation, as the diagnosis of strep is only made with a throat culture.

“Sore throat is a significant symptom in not only strep, but also in mono, influenza and a variety of viral illnesses. Among those possible diagnoses, strep is the only disease that warrants antibiotics. We do not treat for strep without testing with a swab because the antibiotic that would treat strep could cause bad side effects or bacterial resistance in the context of the other diagnoses. It takes an office visit to put your child’s symptoms together with the physical exam to make an accurate diagnosis.

“Dangerous symptoms to watch for that warrant an immediate call to the doctor: difficulty swallowing to the point where your child is drooling because they cannot swallow their saliva; severe throat pain that is only on one side of the throat that causes their voice to become very whispery; sore throat accompanied by distressed breathing or the child’s feeling like they can’t inhale enough air.”

This week, pediatricians at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital are seeing cases of COVID-19, upper respiratory viruses, stomach bugs, colds, and bronchitis.

The CVS MinuteClinic in York reports ongoing cases of COVID-19 and viral bronchitis.

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