LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — Raeann Merlino, age 10, of West Pittston, was known to her friends and neighbors as a "Rae" of sunshine. That's why many were encouraged to wear the color yellow on Monday in her honor after she died Sunday following a battle with Influenza A and RSV.
"We're seeing a lot of these respiratory illnesses," said Dr. Kathleen Noss, the northeast medical director for pediatrics at Geisinger. "Our respiratory season started early and had a very sharp rise in cases. So we just are coming down, I think, a bit from the RSV surge. And now flu has taken off — Influenza A in particular — exponentially."
Dr. Noss says Geisinger has been seeing a lot of children with this illness.
Jamie Merlino, Rae Ann's father, says she was one of them. She went from a Geisinger facility in Pittston, then to Geisinger Wyoming Valley, and Geisinger in Danville before being flown to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on Thanksgiving morning.
Merlino says what surprised him the most was how quickly the illness made a life-threatening impact on his daughter. With only about 36 hours between symptom onset and hospitalization for Rae.
"It's hard to say with certainty exactly what it is about this flu that's making it more severe other than it's just a different strain that you know may hit different age groups differently," added Dr. Noss.
Rae's father and doctors at Geisinger encourage parents to act quickly.
"If they have like increased work of breathing, and they just seem like they're struggling to get air, those are things to get your child seen for right away," explained Dr. Noss.
She also encourages parents to make sure children are practicing healthy habits and are up to date on routine vaccinations to help prevent hospital visits.
"One of the easiest and most important things is good hand washing, right? We say it all the time because it's true, and it works," said Dr. Noss. "Especially before eating, making sure that children are getting in the habit of cleaning, washing their hands, encouraging them to avoid touching their face, putting things in their mouth, things like that."
"I have small kids too, and things right now, especially in clinic, I'm seeing so many sick patients, things feel out of control," said Dr. Noss. "In those times, trying to find things that you can control is the right way, the right thing to do. Hospitals across the country, children's hospitals, in particular, are full, so anything you can do to help lessen the risk of a child needing a hospital is really important."
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