Doctors are seeing a slight uptick in the number of positive flu cases across North Texas, largely due to a new mutation known as "subclade K."

Texas

A new variant of the influenza A virus, known as subclade K of H3N2, is being tracked by medical experts in North Texas as flu cases show a slight uptick across Dallas County. According to local health officials, this new strain is responsible for 89% of flu viruses tested by the CDC, and about 3.9% of flu tests in Texas were positive for the week ending November 29, based on the latest available data.

Health authorities emphasize the importance of getting the flu shot, especially as increased travel and holiday gatherings may lead to higher transmission rates. Preventive measures such as hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes, and wearing masks if sick are also recommended. The flu vaccine is noted to reduce the risk of severe illness and hospitalization.

New flu strain in North Texas prompts shot reminders

All right, so here's what you need to know if you're hearing a lot more sniffling and sneezing. I heard a lot of that last night around town. You are not alone. Flu cases are on the rise in Texas. Good evening, I'm Steve Eager. Hi everybody, I'm Heather Hayes. So medical experts are tracking a new variant that they say is going around. Let's check in with Fox 4's Alex Boyer live with those details. Hey Alex. Hey guys, you know we're here at Parkland Hospital and I can tell you the doctors that I spoke to here are certainly seeing a slight uptick in the number of positive flu cases here and across Dallas County. As you mentioned, that new mutation that's actually known as subclade K is largely to blame. Meanwhile, at the same time, the Dallas County Health and Human Services director is really urging folks who haven't done so already to get their flu shot. May have noticed more people out sick lately. Turns out a new flu strain that's circulating may be partly to blame. There's an influenza A virus called H3N2 which is very common. Subclade K is a very minor variant of the H3N2 virus. Dr. Cesar Termulo is with Parkland Hospital. At a briefing before Dallas County Commissioners Tuesday, DCHHS director Dr. Phillip Wong said Texas currently is in the lower to moderate flu activity level, far from what we expect during the peak of flu season. About 3.9 percent of the flu tests have been coming back positive with the latest week ending November 29th. That's the most recent public data available, so flu activity could actually be higher given that many people traveled across the country during Thanksgiving where flu cases in some area have been higher. The new flu variant is responsible for 89% of flu viruses tested by the CDC. If you look at that chart on the upper right, the 2025-2026 line, you can see it's starting to make that uptick, but it's certainly not where we certainly see when the activity gets more sort of higher burden in the community. I asked Dr. Termulo what he's seen in his clinics. So the same things that you see with a regular flu such as high fever, muscle aches, pneumonias, asthma attacks, things like that is not indifferent to what we normally see with the flu. And so the clinical presentation at this point looks the same. Dr. Termulo encourages folks to continue to do all the things that we've been taught. Wash your hands, cover your mouth when coughing and sneezing, wear a mask if you're sick, and get the flu shot if you haven't done so already. What's gonna happen is that with the holidays people are gonna be getting together. A lot of people are gonna be in close contact with each other. So oftentimes we do see after the holidays, especially in January, we do see an uptick with influenza activity. So to that point again, Dr. Termulo says it takes about a week or so for your body to build up those antibodies after getting the flu vaccine. And he really wants to drive home the point that it can help decrease your chances of being hospitalized should you get a bad case of the flu. So again, bottom line is now is the time to act. Back to you. All right, Alex Boye, thank you very much.

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Breakdown