This year’s flu season looks a lot like last year. Why you should be worried
Flu cases are increasing across North Texas, which isn’t unusual for this time of year, but it could be a warning that another difficult season.
“Last year we had a big, bad flu season and so far the indicators we’re looking at are following the same pattern as last year,” said Russell Jones, chief epidemiologist for Tarrant County Public Health.
The latest flu surveillance data shows influenza like illnesses jumped from 2.9 percent during the week of Dec. 2-8 to to 3.8 percent during the week of Dec. 9-15.
“That’s a pretty strong uptick in influenza-like illnesses compared to the previous week,” Jones said. “We can’s say it will be the same as last year but that’s a pretty big ramp-up.”
Earlier this week, MedStar reported that crews have responded to more than twice the number of calls from people suffering from flu-like illnesses in Fort Worth than at this time last year.
Last month, MedStar treated 123 people with primary or secondary flu-like illness compared to 50 in November 2017.
Local emergency rooms aren’t seeing the crush of patients just yet but it will be coming in January if this season continues to track last year.
“Texas Health Resources has not seen a significant uptick in flu numbers at our hospitals,” said Judy Wiley, a Texas Health Resources spokeswoman.
The Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention said last year was the worst since the 2009 flu pandemic. Locally, the flu season peaked in early February — two weeks later than the rest of Texas.
In Tarrant County, last season peaked with 13 percent of patients reporting a flu-like illness while two years ago, it topped out at 5 percent, Jones said.
There were more than 150 flu deaths last year across North Texas, according to KERA. Across the U.S. last year, an estimated 80,000 people died, including more than 180 children and there were 30,453 influenza-related hospitalizations
This season also has one other anomaly compared to the rest of Texas.
The main strain testing positive locally is H3N2, which wrecked havoc last year. Nationally, H1N1 is the main strain in circulating.
“We’re a little different than everybody else right now,” Jones said. “H3N2 tends to get more hospitalizations — if it truly keeps going up it could lead to more hospital admissions,” Jones said. “But this could switch over to H1N1 in the coming weeks.”
Most importantly, get a flu a shot. Tarrant County Public Health has a list of places where you can receive a shot. Most health insurance providers will cover the cost of a flu shot at a local pharmacy as well. If you get the flu, antivirals such as Tamiflu can shorter the duration and the severity of the illness.
Here are some suggestions for staying healthy and keeping others from getting ill
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Stay home from work, school and running errands when sick.
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. Throw the tissue in the trash after using it.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water aren’t available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread that way.
- Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with germs like the flu, especially when someone is ill.
This report includes information from the Star-Telegram archives.
This story was originally published December 21, 2018 at 12:09 PM with the headline "This year’s flu season looks a lot like last year. Why you should be worried."
