(WXYZ) — COVID-19 cases are rising in metro Detroit and in Michigan once again, and we'll get another update on the new number of cases on Tuesday afternoon.
But, COVID-19 is not the only issue making things busier for local family doctors and pediatricians.
The CDC is raising the alarm about parechovirus. It's a common virus that circulates in the summer and fall, but in the smallest of children, it can be a real danger.
It's circulating in Michigan, and it's one of the issues "bugging metro Detroit."
The CDC is urging healthcare providers to watch out for parechovirus when infants show signs of severe illness, including fever, sepsis-like syndrome, seizures, or meningitis, which is an inflammation in the covering of the brain.
"We just recently had a patient that had viral meningitis caused by this virus. So it's out there," Dr. Salvatore Ventimiglia from Shelby Pediatric Associates said.
He says by kindergarten, most of us have been exposed to parechovirus. But in newborns, it can be more severe. Ventimiglia says the infant in his office had a persistent fever and irritability.
"It's that baby. You can't console that. Whether feeding, cuddling, rocking, will not have this baby settle down," he said.
The baby had to be hospitalized but did make a full recovery.
Other things happening in metro Detroit include flu cases falling, coronavirus variants rising, physicals picking up, and injuries in children who are playing sports and being active.
"Whether it's motorbike injuries, whether it's some sports-related injuries as the kids are getting back outside," he said.
At Southfield Urgent Car,e they're also busy with school physicals and lots of cases of COVID-19. But they're also seeing a bump in strep throat and pink eye in both kids and adults.
"Aside from the usual stuff, we're seeing some more summer-related illnesses like swimmer's ear, poison ivy, bug bites," Dr. Madeleine McCall of Ascension Orchard Primary Care said.
She said she is also seeking more scraped knees and soft-tissue injuries from people being more active, like twisted ankles from running, hiking injuries, things like that.
To stay out of the doctor's office, wear a helmet and protective gear when you're active. Use bug repellent when you're outside. And for swimmer's ear, she said to use ear plugs to seal off the canal before you go in the water.
That's especially if you're prone to ear infections or swimming in lakes or ponds with a higher bacteria count that can really get that outer ear infection going.
Another tip, aside from just doing a quick towel dry, McCall says you can hold a blow dryer about a foot away from your ear to speed up the drying process.
