For the third week in a row, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that Texas is seeing local, or moderate flu activity; still more than most other states in the country.
Health officials in Denton County say the big increase in cases may not be far.
County Chief Epidemiologist Juan Rodriguez reports an increase lately in the illness they have to deal with all year.
Denton County Health Department Director Dr. Matt Richardson said this is the beginning of the season.
“There’s no crystal ball to see how bad it will be. What we do know is, there’s going to be a big outbreak of the flu. It happens every year,” said Dr. Richardson.
While it is a common illness in the winter, he said it’s one that must be taken seriously.
“The CDC anticipates 30-40,000 people die of the flu every year,” said Richardson adding that roughly averages out to 70-90 deaths in Denton County alone.
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That’s why now is the time for prevention.
At CareNow, nurses and doctors also saw a slight uptick in cases over the past week, but are urging folks to get into clinics ahead of the illness to help prevent it.
“I think we have to be prepared for it to be hitting early,” said CareNow’s Chief Medical Director Dr. Martin Jones. “There’s plenty of flu vaccine that’s still available and so we encourage people to get out and get that. It’s the most common thing people can do to minimize their risk.”
Dr. Jones said there has been interest in the vaccine this year, but as always, they’d love to see more folks coming in to get shots and help prevent the spread of the flu.
Experts caution that the flu shot or mist does take about two weeks to kick in, so now is really the time to get it before holiday travel starts and the virus becomes more of a common issue.
“We start seeing a change in the weather, we get closer to November-December is usually when we start seeing winter-like illnesses,” said Jones. “Certainly influenza comes with that, too.”
