The sounds of the season are sprinkled with sniffles, snuffles and snorts. All that hacking this early, before the end of the year, portends a potentially ferocious flu season, physicians and public health officials said this week.
Already, Southeast Texas is seeing a high incidence of the bug. Beaumont-Port Arthur region ranked third in the country for flu activity for the week ending Dec. 16, according to Walgreens’ Flu Index, which measures prescriptions for anti-viral medications.
Texas has the highest flu activity this season, with seven areas included in the top 10.
The same week Southeast Texas ranked third, 81 people were tested for influenza at the emergency room at Beaumont’s Baptist Hospital, a dramatic spike from the five people the year before, according to Deborah Marciniak, director of infection prevention.
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