Infectious Disease & Public Health Care for Children

For an infection emergency or a high-risk exposure such as rabies, COVID-19 or needle sticks, call the Oklahoma County Department of Public Health at (405) 419-4000.

Children’s Infectious Disease Evaluation & Treatment Close to Home

Infectious diseases, often complex and difficult to diagnose, may put infants and children at increased risk for illness and can affect public health in general. That’s why you want the specialized multidisciplinary evaluation, care and treatment for pediatric infectious disease you’ll find at OU Health in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

Oklahoma’s Largest Group of Infectious Disease Experts

At OU Health, you gain access to the skilled physicians, scientists and specialists – including the largest group of infectious disease experts in Oklahoma and fellowship-trained pediatric AIDS specialists, some of the few in the state – at Oklahoma’s only academic medical center.

Multidisciplinary Team and Personalized Treatment

As you work with OU Health’s infectious disease physicians and services in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, you’ll join a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals to complete a comprehensive evaluation and develop a treatment plan tailored to your child’s specific situation. You’ll also appreciate the extensive child-friendly services and the welcoming atmosphere of Oklahoma Children’s Hospital OU Health in Oklahoma City.

Nearby Access to Pediatric Infectious Disease Experts

At OU Health, your child’s team of specialists applies their extensive training, expertise and experience to all areas of infectious disease, including bacterial, viral, fungal, parasitic, tick-borne and mycobacterial infections, persistent fevers, sexually transmitted diseases, infections acquired during international travel or in childcare centers and infectious diseases in recent immigrants.

You and your child also may collaborate with specialists who understand how to treat infections in people with immune deficiencies, malignancies, cystic fibrosis and chronic lung diseases, infections in newborns, trauma, diabetes, malnutrition and other underlying conditions that can impair immune response.

Symptoms of Infectious Disease in Children

Depend on the board-certified infectious disease specialists at OU Health in Oklahoma City or Tulsa to evaluate your child when experiencing symptoms such as:

• High fever
• Cough and difficulty breathing
• Severe headaches with high fever
• Rashes persisting for several days
• Pain and swelling in an extremity (hand, arm, leg, foot) with fever
• Burning sensation with urination
• Persistent vomiting or diarrhea, especially with blood
• Confusion and lethargy
• Fever or pus drainage following an animal bite or multiple mosquito bites
• Yellow color in skin and/or eyes (jaundice)

Types of Pediatric Infectious Disease

Whether your child needs care in the hospital or can remain at home while dealing with an infectious disease, you can trust the healthcare professionals at OU Health, including Oklahoma Children’s Hospital OU Health. They use the latest scientific research and advanced technology to treat the types of infectious disease that may begin with a virus, bacteria, or parasites or through multiple other paths.

Viral Infectious Diseases

• Chicken pox
• Common cold
• COVID-19
• Encephalitis
• Infections during pregnancy
• Infectious mononucleosis
• Influenza (flu)
• Measles
• Meningitis (viral)
• Mumps
• Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
• Rubella (German measles)
• Shingles (herpes zoster)
• Viral hepatitis
• West Nile virus

Bacterial Infectious Diseases

• Diphtheria
• E. coli
• Lyme disease
• Meningitis (bacterial)
• Persistent ear infections and/or sinus infections
• Rocky Mountain spotted fever
• Salmonella
• Skin infections
• Tetanus
• Toxic shock syndrome
• Whooping cough (pertussis)

Fungal infectious Diseases

• Aspergillosis
• Candida esophagitis
• Histoplasmosis
• Thrush

Parasitical Infectious Diseases

• Cryptosporidiosis
• Giardiasis
• Malaria

Multiple-Cause Infectious Diseases

• Pneumonia
• Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)

Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program

For children affected by HIV/AIDS, you’ll find exceptional and compassionate care through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital OU Health. Take advantage of our many primary care, prevention, education and community services to help your child live well with this chronic condition.

Your Pediatric Infectious Disease Care Team

Rely on the infectious disease care team at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital to diagnose and treat your child’s condition with the expertise that comes from using a team-based approach to care – one that also helps them achieve high scores on customer satisfaction surveys.

You and your child benefit from the knowledge, skill and experience of this diverse group of doctors who specialize in treating children, as well as the infectious disease authorities who work together to achieve the best possible outcomes for your child’s specific situation.

Teaching New Infectious Disease Professionals

In addition to delivering top-quality care and treatment for your child, your team of infectious disease experts also serve as faculty members at our academic partner, the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. They’ve received many awards for teaching our next-generation doctors preparing to treat you and your family far into the future.

Developing Research-Based Treatment Innovations

You and your child also may benefit from treatment innovations developed through research efforts with our scientific partners. Studies focus on issues such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza viruses, COVID-19 infections and vaccines, parasitic infections and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). Results produce federal and pharmaceutical funding of research activities, as well as hundreds of scientific publications and presentations that describe advances in treating infectious disease across the world.