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New flu strain in North Texas prompts shot reminders
Doctors are seeing a slight uptick in the number of positive flu cases across North Texas, largely due to a new mutation known as "subclade K."
DALLAS COUNTY, Texas - Doctors are seeing a slight uptick in the number of positive flu cases across North Texas, largely due to a new mutation known as "subclade K."
The Dallas County health director says there's still time to get the flu shot if you haven't done so already.
New flu strain spreads in NTX
FILE - A pharmacist administers a free flu shot vaccine to a customer at a CVS Health Corp. Pharmacy in Miami, Florida. (Marco Bello/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
What we know:
Dr. Cesar Termulo, an associate medical director at Parkland Hospital, explained that sublade K is a minor variant of H3N2, a very common influenza A virus.
At a briefing before Dallas County Commissioners Tuesday, Dallas County Health and Human Services Dr. Philip Huang said Texas is currently at the lower to moderate flu activity level — far from what we expect during the peak of flu season.
About 3.9 percent of the flu tests have come back positive for the latest week, ending Nov. 29. That's the most recent public data available.
So flu activity could actually be higher given that many people traveled across the country during Thanksgiving, where flu cases, in some areas, have been higher.
This new flu variant is responsible for 89 percent of flu viruses tested by the CDC.
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Dallas County health expert weighs in
What they're saying:
"So the same things that you see with a regular flu, such as high fever, muscle aches, pneumonias, asthma attacks, things like that, are not different to what we normally see with the flu. And so the clinical presentation at this point looks the same," Termulo said.
Terumulo encourages folks to continue to do all the things we've been taught: Wash your hands, cover your mouth when coughing and sneezing, wear a mask if you're sick, and get the flu shot if you haven't done so already.
"What's going to happen is that, with the holidays, people will be getting together. A lot of people are going to be in close contact with each other. So oftentimes, we do see after the holidays, especially in January, an uptick with influenza activity," Termulo said.
Termulo says it takes about a week or so for your body to build up the antibodies after getting the flu vaccine.
It can help decrease your risk of hospitalization, so now is the time to act.
The Source: Information in this article came from health care professionals in Dallas County.