Typical flu season should be over, but the number of confirmed swine flu cases continues to rise rapidly in Fort Bend County
As of this week, 107 cases of swine flu – also known as “novel influenza A H1N1″ – have been confirmed in Fort Bend, according to the county Office of Emergency Management.
That’s more than a 100% increase over the 48 cases confirmed as of June 18, and almost a tenfold increase over the 11 cases confirmed as of May 21.
Another 311 Fort Bend cases are listed as being “suspected” to be swine flu – the same number listed a month ago.
First reported in Mexico in March, and in the U.S. in April, the H1N1 flu virus has similarities to more common flu viruses, but humans have no immunity to it.
The virus has rapidly spread around the world, and has been declared a pandemic. On June 11, the World Health Organization raised the designation for swine flu to a “Phase 6″ flue pandemic alert, saying “on the basis of available evidence and expert assessments of the evidence, the scientific criteria for an influenza pandemic have been met.”
Since that declaration, the swine flu has continued to spread throughout the world, the United States, in Texas and throughout the greater Houston region.
All 50 states have reported confirmed cases of the disease and, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, at least 263 people have died in the United States at least in part because of having contracted swine flu.
In Texas, 24 deaths have been recorded, and nearly 5,000 cases have been confirmed. That makes Texas second only to Wisconsin which has reported more than 6,000 confirmed cases.
While the number of H1N1 cases has climbed in Fort Bend, it’s done the same in Harris County. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, there are at least 529 confirmed cases in Harris. The only texas county with more confirmed cases is Hidalgo, with 1,205.
“While nationwide U.S. influenze surveillance systems indicate that overall activity is decreasing in the country at this time, novel H1N1 outbreaks are ongoing in parts of the U.S., in some cases with intense activity,” the CDC said in a recent web site statement.
Most people who’ve contracted the new virus have recovered without treatment, however, health officials say some people are at risk of serious complications, including those 65 or older, children younger than 5 years old, pregnant women and anyone with chronic medical conditions or whose immune systems are compromised.
