Texas’ nasty flu season tapering off

State health officials say 4-week decline looks ‘encouraging’

The deadly flu bug begins to taper off, state health officials say, a long-awaited declaration three months into a brutal season.

The flu has officially begun tapering off, state health officials said Friday, a long-awaited declaration three months into a particularly brutal season.

The determination that the season peaked in late January was made in a new Texas Department of Health report that shows flu activity declined for the fourth consecutive week as of Feb. 24. The percentage of doctor visits for flu-like symptoms as of last week was 8.5, down from nearly 15 percent five weeks ago.

“It’s encouraging,” said Chris Van Deusen, director of media relations for the department. “People shouldn’t let their guard down — there’s still flu out there — but most Texas regions continue to be reporting lower levels.”

The percentage of flu appointments in late January was the highest in nearly a decade, said state officials. The state’s flu activity was one of the nation’s first classified as widespread and has consistently ranked among the nation’s highest.

The new report noted the state activity level reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week was regional, downgraded from widespread. Flu activity remains widespread in 45 states, according to the CDC.

But CDC officials said the worst is over nationally too. They reported the overall percentage of doctor visits for flu symptoms is now 5 percent.

The Texas report shows the flu-related death toll in Texas as of early February is 5,228, including 1,134 in the region that includes Houston and Galveston and 1,540 in the region that includes Dallas and Fort Worth. The numbers are taken from death certificates that officials say likely undercount the total. numbers.

The majority of the deaths involve the elderly, but eight were

children. Those still don’t include the two in the Houston area announced last week because of the time lag before they are reported to the state.

Nationally, the pediatric death toll is now 114, up 17 from last week.

Flu is an underrated killer. It contributed to the deaths of more than 9,500 Texans last season and about 8,400 the previous season.

The flu season has raged locally and around the nation for three months now, overloading area emergency departments, hospital rooms and doctor’s offices. Public health officials say it is one of the worst seasons in a decade.

Despite the tapering off in Texas, its flu activity level remains high, the CDC’s top classification.