Flu Concerns on the Rise; Two Deaths Reported in Tyler

TYLER � This flu season, there have been two confirmed deaths in Tyler as a result of the contagious virus, one at ETMC and another at Mother Frances. KETK reports these flu numbers for ETMC Tyler:

Week of December 8, 2013 – 20 patients tested positive for the flu.
Week of December 14, 2013 – 46 patients tested positive for the flu.
Week of December 22, 2013 – 59 patients tested positive for the flu and one tested positive for H1N1.
Week of December 30, 2013 – 42 patients tested positive for the flu and one person died.

Mother Frances in Tyler reports 57 patients tested positive for the flu, nine were admitted to the hospital, and one person has died. 98.6 percent of cases at TMF have been flu-related.

Meanwhile, according to East Texas Medical Center, due to the high volume of patients entering the emergency room with upper respiratory symptoms, including the flu, they may be turned away and directed to other medical facilities. Rebecca Berkley with ETMC in Tyler tells KETK her hospital is experiencing extremely high volumes of patients in the emergency department. Most of these patients have upper respiratory problems, which can include the flu, pneumonia, severe colds, etc., and many of them are so sick they are being admitted into the hospital.

“ETMC Tyler rarely goes on divert but recently both ETMC and Trinity Mother Frances have been on divert, which means both Tyler hospitals will balance the flow of patients between them based on patient request,” says Berkley. Divert means the facility has exhausted their resources and must turn away patients being transferred or transported to their facility.”

According to Dr. Paul McGaha with the Texas Department of Health, more people have been seriously ill than were reported last year. The flu kills about 35,000 people a year, and the H1N1 strain has already killed one in Nacogdoches and two in Gregg County. “The flu is like sandpaper.” said said Dr. William Moore, director of ETMC Regional EMS. “It’s like somebody injected sandpaper through your veins. everything hurts. Everything is being irritated.”

Experts say flu season in East Texas usually peaks at the end of January, but this year, flu season came a month early. “I don’t think that we had enough people getting immunized and the sudden onset of cold weather was a little bit unexpected,” said Public Health Coordinator Russell Hopkins. ETMC’s seasonal flu patients tripled from the beginning of December to the end. “The flu test is showing us it’s going up,” said Dr. Moore. “We haven’t seen it turn the corner and go down, yet, so we can only project it will keep going up.”