HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — ABC13 is continuing to monitor flu cases as they climb nationwide and here in Houston. The latest report from the CDC shows Texas is one of nine states recording a high number of flu cases.
When our team spoke to the Houston Health Department this week, the director noted a continued growth in flu cases.
“We have seen increases in influenza A in our wastewater monitoring, and we have also seen increases in our health care-related visits, almost double from a month ago,” director Dr. Theresa Tran said.
The latest figures from the state health and human services department show that across age groups, more people are going to the ER for respiratory illnesses.
The largest age group visiting the ER for respiratory illness is five to 11-year-olds, making up more than a quarter of visits for that age group. This time last year, that number was closer to 15%.
The numbers really began to build around Thanksgiving and have evolved from there. Health experts say that’s a trend they expect on some level most years.
“This year, the trend is slightly higher than last year, so I anticipate the trend is going to continue to rise,” Dr. Tran said.
According to the Houston Methodists’ respiratory snapshot, there was a slight decrease in reported flu cases across the health system. The week of Dec.19, Methodist reported 1,051 positive flu A tests, but that number fell to 756 for Christmas week. That number is still higher than this time a month ago.
Experts say that symptoms after exposure can pop up in one to four days, and those first days of illness are crucial.
This story comes from our news partner ABC13 Houston.
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