More than 2,800 people tested positive for the flu from December 2017 to February 2018, according to statistics provided by officials March 7.
While the peak of the flu season has come and gone, health officials continue to urge caution for those who might be feeling sick.
“The flu season is not over yet. It goes through May, so we want to be diligent about washing our hands with soap and warm water,” said Eric Schneider, Hays County Epidemilogist. “We also want people to stay home if they’re feeling sick, so they don’t spread the illness.”
Schneider said in a statement more than 10,000 Hays County residents visited a physician for symptoms that resembled the flu.
However, he also said the number of confirmed cases in the county was “definitely the highest number of flu cases since I’ve been in this position.”
However, Schneider said Hays County’s rapid rise in positive flu cases followed a national trend. In Hays County, the peak flu season runs from December to February, which was consistent in 2018.
Measuring the overall impact of the flu could be difficult to assess, Schneider said.
So far, only one fatality has been reported in Hays County. But physicians are also not required to notify the Hays County Health Department of an adult fatality due to a flu illness, Schneider said.
The Hays County Health Department reported the lone flu fatality after testing the victim, an elderly Wimberley man.
“There may have been another fatality because of complications from the flu,” Schneider said.
Schneider said the county has seen a rapid decrease in flu cases.
“We have definitely left the peak of the flu season behind us as the number of cases has continuously declined for four straight weeks,” Schneider said in a statement.
Hays County Flu Statistics
• February 2018 – 886 positive flu cases in Hays County (one death related to flu reported in February)
• January 2018 – 1,046 positive flu cases in Hays County
• December 2017 – 697 positive flu cases in Hays County
