Nasty strain of flu grips Houston early

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This influenza season is shaping up to be one of the earliest and worst in years, with the flu-sick and those with respiratory illnesses that masquerade as influenza clogging Houston-area clinics, emergency rooms and doctor's offices.

According to local health officials, most of those who have become ill did not get the flu vaccine.

"I've never been this sick before," said 23-year-old Angelle Whitfield, who finally had the strength on Tuesday afternoon to go to the doctor. She spent the weekend fighting on-and-off fever.

The worst came Monday. "Once I got a little ounce of energy I said: 'Let me get up and go see someone.' "

More Information All sickness is not the flu: Seasonal flu is a respiratory illness distinguished by cough, sore throat, rapid onset of fever, runny eyes and muscle aches. The vaccine does not make you sick: An individual's body may have an immune reaction to the shot that could result in a runny nose, irritated injection area or other symptoms that should subside in a few days. It's not too late to get a flu shot: Flu season can begin as early as October, can last until May and usually peaks in January or February. The 2011-2012 season began late and was relatively mild compared with previous years. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

She went to Methodist's Emergency Care Center on Kirby, where she was diagnosed with an infection and prescribed antibiotics.

"I should be better in the next few days," Whitfield said. "The symptoms that I had could have been the flu - especially since I didn't get the shot."

By early December, Texas was among five states reporting high levels of flu illness. The uptick of ick continued into the last week of 2012, when an estimated 12 percent of the state's doctor visits were for flu-like symptoms.

For Harris County hospitals, it was 18 percent - the year's peak, according to Houston health department figures.

Volume is "way up" for The Methodist Hospital System's emergency departments and free-standing ERs, according to Dr. Jeff Kalina, co-medical director of the emergency department at The Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center.

"The majority of people testing positive with Influenza A have not had the vaccine this season," he said.

Across all ages

For the vaccinated who end up sick? "It either seems to be folks who had their vaccine a little too early or had a strain of A the vaccine didn't catch," Kalina said.

People across all age groups are showing up for care.

Texas Children's Hospital's pediatric clinics experienced a 9 percent increase in visits in November and December compared with the last two months of 2011.

Emergency department visits to HCA hospitals in December were 7 percent higher than in December 2011 and increased in the last two weeks of 2012, according to Dr. Angela Shippy, chief medical officer for the system's Gulf Coast Division.

Experts say if this season meets or exceeds predictions, expect more sickness, more severe illness, more hospitalizations and, yes, more deaths.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this is the earliest regular flu peak since 2003-2004.

'Telephone triage'

The majority of Houston patients have needed rest and sometimes prescriptions to get better. A few have required hospitalization - mainly those with compromised immune systems, underlying conditions, such as weak hearts and lungs, or those who develop secondary infections such as pneumonia.

None of the health officials interviewed were aware of any local deaths attributed to the flu.

They're running out of appointments at Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, according to Dr. Melanie Mouzoon, managing physician for immunization practices.

"We're so busy that our administration is working on a telephone triage protocol" to determine who should be seen immediately and who can be sent home with a prescription for Tamiflu without putting them at risk, she said.

Kelsey-Seybold has given 74,000 flu doses this season already compared with 80,000 in 2011-'12. Mouzoon advises Houstonians to get a flu vaccine, which is matched to the circulating viruses. Plenty of doses are available at doctor's offices and retail pharmacies and there's still time to get one.

Whitfield, a University of Houston-Downtown student, plans to get the flu vaccine when she recovers. "I've never gotten the shot before," she said, "but now I am going to recommend it to everyone."