Flu is climbing in Texas, and the state's first two outbreaks of the season were in North Texas

Flu activity is rising across Texas as the respiratory virus season gets underway, and North Texas accounted for the only outbreaks the state recorded in its latest weekly count.

In the week of Oct. 18 to 24, 11.84% of the 4,610 specimens tested by 17 reporting hospital laboratories were positive for influenza, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services surveillance report released Friday. The week before, the rate was 9.43%.

The share of doctor visits for flu-like illness also rose, to 3.02% from 2.43%. Federal health officials rated the state's flu-like illness activity as low, up from minimal the week before.

Outbreaks and regions

Two flu or flu-like illness outbreaks were reported that week, both in Public Health Region 2/3, which includes Collin County and the rest of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. One was at a school and the other at a long-term care facility. The report does not name either site.

Region 2/3 was one of four state health regions reporting more flu activity than the week before. Four others reported less.

Which strain

Influenza A made up almost 98% of positive hospital tests. Among the samples that labs went on to subtype, nearly all were the H1N1 strain; only one was H3N2.

Deaths so far

No children have died of flu in Texas this season. Death certificates list pneumonia or influenza as a cause or contributing cause in 262 deaths of Texas residents from Oct. 4 through Oct. 24, 206 of them among people 65 and older.

The department notes those figures are provisional and may include COVID-19 deaths that were classified as pneumonia or flu in the absence of a positive test. Region 2/3 accounted for 69 of the deaths.

Most individual flu cases are not reportable under Texas law, so the state's weekly numbers come from sentinel clinics, hospital labs and public health laboratories rather than a full count.

Sources

State of Texas