Flu cases on the rise in UAE: Doctors advise parents to get kids vaccinated as schools reopen

Flu cases on the rise in UAE: Doctors advise parents to get kids vaccinated as schools reopen

With students now back in classrooms after spring break, a number of doctors in the UAE are seeing more youngsters with symptoms of flu, including runny nose, fever, or sore throat.

Though there had been an increase in cases of influenza over the past few days, health experts said these are mild and not significantly high to cause worry. To keep children protected, they added that it is best to get children vaccinated against flu.

“What we see is that, mostly, children who haven’t taken a flu shot are falling ill. I recommend that parents must check for any missed or pending vaccination shots of their children, and also give an annual flu shot," said Dr Amrit Lal Soni, paediatrician at Ahalia Hospital, Abu Dhabi City.

Dr Jamuna Raghuraman, paediatrician at Medeor Hospital, Dubai, said the likely cause of fever cases after school reopening was the sudden interaction and gathering of students.

"But we must wait and watch to see how the routine change has affected children. The ending of Ramadan and related changes may also cause fluctuations in the trends. Presently, the number of infected cases is not huge. The ones who are coming have streptococcal throat infections, high fever and body rash.