Flu season hits North Texas schools, clinics, hospitals
NORTH TEXAS — Emergency rooms and urgent cares across North Texas are slammed with a huge surge in flu patients.
Over a 24-hour span, the Cook Children's Emergency Department in Fort Worth has seen close to 700 patients.
"Which is just an astronomical number," said Cook Children's attending physician Dr. Stephanie Felton. "Every year, we obviously see the flu. This year, I will say, that we're seeing an abundance of it, as far as the numbers."
Children's Health, which primarily serves patients in Dallas and Collin Counties, reported a spike as well. The healthcare system saw 783 flu cases last week, which is an 83% increase from the week before.
As for non-pediatric hospitals, available bed space is OK for now, according to the DFW Hospital Council, since most flu cases are treated in doctors' offices or at urgent care.
However, cases are increasing in emergency rooms.
Over the past week, Medical City Healthcare emergency rooms have seen a 10% rise in flu visits to emergency rooms, with a 35% positivity rate.
Doctors say the flu has a wide range of symptoms.
"People coming in from anything from just a fever, coughing, congestion, vomiting and diarrhea, malaise," said Felton. "So just body aches in general, not feeling well. Those are the most obvious symptoms and we're seeing a ton of them."
The flu normally lasts five to seven days and most people can treat it at home.
"We try to get to every patient as quickly as we can, but there is an abundance of patients that are coming in through our doors, so really assess your child before you come into the emergency department for a few things: Dehydration, prolonged fever, fever for five days, or respiratory distress - breathing very fast, breathing very hard," Felton said. "Those are indications that you have to come to the emergency department. Other than that, try to utilize the other resources as far as your primary care physician and urgent care."
Doctors also stress the importance of all the typical prevention methods to prevent further spread – frequent hand washing, cleaning shared surfaces, and staying home from school or work if you're sick.
"This is something that's being reported in the Dallas County Health Department and also nationwide - flu activity is peaking at this time," said Dr. Carla Garcia Carreno, medical director for Infection Prevention and Control at Children's Health Plano. "Remember, fever-free for 24 hours to go back to school or daycare."
Parents across North Texas say their children's schools are seeing a lot of absences because of the flu.
Mesquite ISD had 18 cases of the flu, following students' return from winter break on Jan. 6. Two weeks later, that number got up to 210. The district has partnered with a third-party company to ensure adequate substitute staffing. That agency has reported an increase in teacher absences, with many citing sickness as the cause.
In a statement, the district said "Mesquite ISD's operations team has conducted deep cleaning at targeted campuses with higher absence rates and is proactively planning to extend these measures across all schools."
Dallas ISD said attendance numbers have been average recently and the district's health department isn't reporting outbreaks or large number of cases.
Frisco ISD provided the following information:
"Every flu season, schools experience a dip in attendance, and this year is no different. Denton County and Collin County health departments have reported an increase in flu cases, and I would recommend you reach out to them for details.
As for mitigation efforts, Frisco ISD employs the following precautions:
- All high-touch surfaces are cleaned and sanitized daily as part of standard cleaning procedures.
- Campus staff have access to appropriate cleaning supplies to clean classrooms and other school areas throughout the day.
- Campus staff may request deep cleaning and disinfecting from custodial staff as needed.
In addition, FISD held a flu clinic in the fall that was hosted on all campuses, ensuring access to vaccines for all students and their families. All students, staff and family members may go to any flu vaccine clinic offered in the district yearly beginning in August."
The Godley Independent School District and Treetops School International, a K-12 charter school in Euless, said Tuesday they will be closed the rest of the week due to absences.