Local pediatrician Elizabeth Tucker said that she has seen a second wave of the flu in her office.

“I have seen more than 20 kids in my office in the past week,” Tucker said. “All of them positive with the flu.”

Tucker said that now she is seeing kids being positive for both “A” and “B” strands of the flu.

“Some are even positive for both of them at the same time,” she said.

The age range that Tucker is seeing is the daycare aged kids and preschool aged kids.

“A lot of the younger kids are coming in with the flu now,” Tucker said. “In the beginning we were seeing more of the ‘A’ flu, but now the daycare aged kids and preschoolers are getting sick with both strands.”

Although Tucker was not in Andalusia last year, she believes that the amount of kids she is seeing now is about the same where she was.

“In Louisiana, the number is definitely comparable,” she said.

She believes that this year’s flu vaccine has not been the most effective.

“This year it has been about 50 percent to 70 percent effective,” Tucker said. “We are seeing kids that did get vaccinated come in with the flu, but their cases are much more mild than kids who have not been vaccinated.”

Along with the flu, Tucker has seen several kids come in with allergy problems.

“There have been several coming in with runny noses, congestion and a sore throat because of the pollen lately,” Tucker said. “All of that is allergy related, but if they do have a fever associated with it or if they have been exposed to the flu, we will do a flu test, just to be safe.”

Tucker said that kids some symptoms for this wave of the flu are a high fever, congestion and nausea and vomiting.

“The symptoms usually last two days if they are taking Tamiflu,” Tucker said. “If they are not, then it will last around five days. We are still seeing that the cough lingers for a while though.”

She advises parents that if their child is presenting flu like symptoms then they need to keep their child at home.

“If you notice that your child has these flu like symptoms, then first you need to keep them hydrated,” Tucker said. “If they have a fever then you need to make sure you take them to the doctor and keep them at home.”