Patients are flooding doctors’ offices these days worried they might have the flu. But doctors at The University of Kansas Health system say not everyone who comes in with flu-like symptoms has the flu.

            In the video, Dr. Stephen Lauer, a pediatrician at The University of Kansas Health System, says there’s another virus going around called Adenovirus that looks a lot like the flu. Dr. Lauer says Adenoviruses are common causes of respiratory illness, but most infections are not severe. They can cause cold-like symptoms, sore throat, bronchitis, pneumonia, diarrhea, and pink eye (conjunctivitis). You can get an adenovirus infection at any age, but infants and people with weakened immune systems are more likely than others to develop severe illness from adenoviruses.

            Dr. Lauer says the actual influenza continues to be a problem, with many patients in the hospital’s clinics and emergency department testing positive for the ailment. He says there are some forms of relief, such as the drug Tamiflu. But he says it’s only effective if taken early enough during the disease, and then it usually only reduces the symptoms by a day or two.  He offers advice on how to treat the flu, and more importantly, how to avoid it. He says it’s not too late to get a flu shot.

            The video also includes b-roll of a young patient receiving a flu shot.