Every exam room was full and the lobby was packed at the Denton Regional Medical Center Urgent Care Monday afternoon, and it was no secret to the nurses inside why.
“The flu,” said nurse manager Patrick LaFontaine. “Anybody who’s presenting with any sort of flu-like symptoms are automatically getting swabbed for the flu, and many times it is coming back positive.”
LaFontaine’s clinic at Rayzor Ranch in Denton has seen a big flu spike in the past few weeks.
They report a more than 40-percent increase in cases from this time last year.
Other urgent care centers in town report similar situations.
Crews at Minor Emergency of Denton said Monday that they were packed and seeing patients all day; the majority with flu symptoms. Other clinics and work places had to work short-staffed Monday as many of their own employees called in sick after the holidays.
In the latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Monday, Texas continued to be listed as “widespread” with flu cases, as did the majority of the United States.
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The report, which covered the week ending Dec. 20, showed that total new flu cases reported dipped slightly, but Denton County Chief Epidemiologist Juan Rodriguez pointed out that doesn’t necessarily mean the flu has spiked. He said the report also shows that the percent of flu tests coming back positive remains on the rise.
“Everything looks like it’s still trending upwards,” said Rodriguez.
Denton County’s latest count showed about 241 cases in a single week, up from 183 the week previous and the first time this season the county has seen a report of at least 200 new cases.
Rodriguez said the last few years have produced early flu peaks and he’s hopeful that may be in sight for this year as well.
“I definitely think there will be an early peak, so probably in the next couple weeks we might be seeing the worst of the flu season,” he said.
However nurses like LaFontaine say they aren’t dropping their guard, because even if flu season peaks in coming weeks, it won’t likely end until early Spring.
“Busy days ahead of us,” said LaFontaine. “It will put you down and out for sure.”
Health officials continue to stress good hand washing, coughing into your arm and other common flu prevention methods. They also still recommend the flu shot for people who haven’t gotten one yet.
LaFontaine said they’ll continue to treat the flu aggressively.
“Treating them with Tamiflu and supportive therapy which includes rest, fluids, fever control,” he said.
However, his top advice: if you do get sick, stay home and help prevent the illness from spreading.
