Finally, this deadly flu season is showing signs of improving in North Texas

If you've been waiting for a hopeful sign this flu season, here's some good news.

The percentage of patients reporting flu-like illnesses has dropped dramatically in Tarrant County, from 11.5 percent to 7.3 percent in the latest influenza surveillance report released on Friday.

"This is the second week in a row we're down," said Russell Jones, chief epidemiologist for Tarrant County Public Health. "Last week's drop was pretty impressive."

Nationally, U.S. health officials said that the flu season apparently peaked in early February and has been falling ever since. The season started early and the intensity level was among the highest seen in a decade.

The county's influenza report, which covers the week of Feb. 18-24, shows the number of flu-like illnesses is still high enough to be considered an epidemic but is finally headed in the right direction.

Both lab and rapid-flu tests show more than 70 percent of patients are testing positive for Influenza B, which historically is less serious than Influenza A and the B strain is covered by this year's quadrivalent flu shot. Earlier this season, H3N2, which is an strain was dominant and causing many people to become ill in what has been the worst season since 2009-2010.

In North Texas, more than 130 have died from the flu this season, according to the Dallas Morning News, including 33 in Tarrant County. But Tarrant County Public Health officials caution that far more adults have likely died since adult deaths are not required to be reported by law.

Despite some hopeful numbers, Jones said the flu will likely stick around through March and could "plateau" for several weeks before fading away.

Statewide, flu has dropped from widespread to regional and the percentage of flu-like illnesses decreased from 11.11 percent to 8.53 percent. Texas is only one of four states in the Continental U.S. not listed as widespread, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We have definitely peaked," CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund told CNN, adding, "that doesn't mean we aren't going to see more flu activity."

One lesson from this flu season is the importance of Tamiflu. There's been some anecdotal evidence that more doctors are prescribing it earlier or even to some high-risk patients before they get sick.

"Tamiflu really took off," Jones said. "We've seen people prescribed it before they get it. If they have flu symptoms you'll hear that it will cut off one day. However when you're looking at the data, you'll see people have less severe fatigue."

The poor performance of this year's flu shot underscores the need for a universal flu vaccine.

The National Institutes of Health this week said developing a universal flu vaccine that doesn't require guessing which strains will circulate each year is a top priority.

The flu shot was 36 percent effective this year, according to the CDC. Against Flu A, it had a 25 percent effectiveness while it was 42 percent effective against Flu B.

"We know H3N2 adapted this year," Jones said. "When it is grown in eggs it changes a bit. The reference strain was a good match but what came out what a little bit different."

This report includes material from The Associated Press.

Bill Hanna: 817-390-7698, @fwhanna

This story was originally published March 2, 2018 at 12:32 PM with the headline "Finally, this deadly flu season is showing signs of improving in North Texas."