Experts say DFW is seeing the strongest flu season the area has faced in years.
Dallas Children’s Medical Center tells NBC 5 that during the last week in January, they treated the most flu patients they’ve had since 2022.
As a primary care doctor and owner of Frisco Concierge Medicine, Dr. Bryan Lowery has been seeing more and more flu patients come through his doors this winter.
Lowery told NBC 5 that this resurgent flu season hit close to home last week.
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“We had one of our sons test positive for Flu B last week because he was around a lot of his high school basketball players,” Lowery said. “And I think it spread around the whole team.”
New numbers from Children’s Medical Center Dallas showed that during the week beginning on Jan. 28, the hospital treated 720 flu cases systemwide.
Hospital staff said that number marked a 20% jump in cases over the week before - and the most patients treated in a week since 2022.
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“There’s definitely a lot more flu this year than we have seen in the past few years,” Lowery said.
NBC 5 asked an expert what has been driving this increase in flu cases.
Lowery said this winter has seen case numbers rebound to a more normal rate, after several years of COVID-19 being the dominant respiratory virus spreading throughout communities.
“We’ve also had a cold snap the last few weeks, it was more cold and rainy in January,” Lowery said. “So people were indoors more, and I think that also has probably propagated this increase in flu cases.”
Doctors said if your child does test positive, families should try to get them treatment within the first 48 hours.
“But really, it doesn’t last too long for most kids,” Lowery said. “They usually get over it, but it can be severe.”
“If they have high fever, shortness of breath, you want to make sure they don’t get pneumonia,” he continued.
And to try to cut down the spread, Lowery had familiar advice: wash your hands, don’t cough in the air, and stay home if you’re not feeling well.
“It’s still not too late to get your flu shot if you have not, because February and March seems like this is going to be a big flu season,” Lowery said.
