North Texas emergency rooms still packed with flu patients

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.khou.com/news/texas-news?...&fDomain=10247


North Texas emergency rooms still packed with flu patients
by JIM DOUGLAS
WFAA

Posted on December 31, 2012 at 5:36 PM

FORT WORTH -- Traditionally, headaches don't start until New Year's morning. But the misery is well underway in North Texas emergency rooms...

...Talbott has spent 17 years in the emergency room at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth.

He said he's specifically seeing a big spike in influenza A. Hospital officials say the Harris had 360 visits Sunday -- it was close to a record.

"I'm seeing 102 and 103 temperatures," Talbott said.

And he sees a common theme among patients: most of them have not had a flu shot...

[JimO]

Re: North Texas emergency rooms still packed with flu patients

Texas Week 51 ILI Chart:

[Shiloh]

Re: North Texas emergency rooms still packed with flu patients

Source: http://www.khou.com/news/texas-news?...&fDomain=10247


Health officials take notice as flu concern spreads in North Texas
by JANET ST. JAMES
WFAA
Posted on January 2, 2013 at 5:26 PM

DALLAS ?? Not since the swine flu epidemic of 2008 have emergency rooms seen as many influenza patients as they have so far this year, hospital officials say.

Nationwide, 16 pediatric influenza deaths have been reported.

Not yet included in that tally is the death of 17-year-old Max Schwolert of Flower Mound. Schwolert died after a case of influenza progressed into a staph pneumonia.

It's "definitely associated with the flu," says Dr. Matt Bush, emergency room physician at Medical City Dallas Hospital, of the connection between staph and flu."And one of the more common reasons that a healthy person would die from the flu."...

...Medical City is among several hospitals that have quit testing for flu in most cases because the virus is so widespread. Some facilities have run out of flu tests because of the high demand...