Dateline: November 20, 2003

State issues warning about flu season

The Texas Department of Health (TDH) has issued a statewide health advisory reporting heavier-than-usual influenza activity in the state and urging people to get a flu shot.

“It’s not unusual to have flu occur this early in the season. What’s unusual is to have this much of it this early,” said Texas Commissioner of Health Eduardo Sanchez.

Influenza, or flu, has been reported in Bell, Bexar, Brazos, Collin, Harris, Jefferson, Montgomery, Nolan, Smith, Travis and Williamson counties the first two weeks of October.

“Get a flu shot,” Sanchez advised. “That’s the first line of defense.”

Authorities report that the flu vaccine is in plentiful supply this year. People wanting to get a flu shot should contact their doctors, employers, or local public health departments or watch for announcements from supermarkets and other businesses offering the shot to the public.

Flu season officially begins in October and runs through May, usually reaching its peak in Texas in January and February.

This season’s vaccine protects against the A/Panama, A/New Caledonia and B/Hong Kong strains of the influenza virus and against other similar strains.

Most people six months or older can receive the flu vaccine, but it is especially encouraged for children 6 months to 23 months, people 50 and older, residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, diabetics, women who will be in their second or third trimester of pregnancy during flu season, people with weakened immune systems, and people who have asthma or other chronic respiratory, heart, or kidney conditions.

It takes about two weeks for the vaccine to be effective.

Influenza is a viral respiratory illness marked by the sudden onset of fever, headache, extreme tiredness, dry cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, and muscle aches. The illness is spread when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks, sending the highly contagious virus into the air.

As a flu control measure, Sanchez stressed that people with flu symptoms should stay home to avoid infecting classmates or colleagues.

Influenza is not a reportable illness in Texas, so exact flu case numbers are not known. Instead, TDH relies on a surveillance network of reporting sites around the state to track influenza levels and identify circulating strains of the virus.

More information is online at: www.tdh.state.tx.us/ideas/influenza/overview