WACO, Texas (KXXV) — Flu cases in McLennan County continue to increase. One family in Waco was sick with the flu for six days.
- Waco McLennan County Public Health Department is reporting a spike in flu cases.
- Flu season ends in the spring and can extend until May.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“It went Austin, then dad, then Alex, then me," said Jackson Jentho.
“I went to work on Monday, and I didn’t start feeling it until I got home that day," said Jonathan Jentho of Waco.
Jonathan Jentho and his family got a bad case of the flu, which is on the rise in McLennan County.
“And then Tuesday I called into work because of how bad I felt," said Jonathan.
And his kids didn't feel any better.
"I felt like I was about to throw up," Alex Smith said.
Jonathan said the kids were sick for six days with aches and running noses.
According to the Waco McLennan County Public Health Department, Flu A is up by 31%, and Flu B has increased by 23%, and with kids heading back to school next week, one physician with Baylor Scott and White said the spike is serious.
“I think the reason it’s spreading fast is that we had kinda a setup where it was earlier than usual, and maybe we didn’t have the rates of vaccinations as high as sometimes we do. And what I’m seeing with kids is the younger kids are having high fever, but everybody is really tired…you’re having a lot of fatigue with it," said Samuel Clark, a Physician, Baylor Scott and White McLane's Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Clark said kids can also experience a strong cough with Flu B. With kids heading back to school, Dr. Clark urges kids to wash their hands and get the flu shot.
“They carried on a cough for days on end. I think the cough probably lasted about two weeks and still varies here and there, and it’s not completely gone. Making a full recovery, they had a great Christmas, and they were happy-go-lucky," said Nikki Bragg, a West ISD mother whose kids were sick from the flu.
As Jonathan and his kids try and make a full recovery, he hopes their return to school is smooth, like Braggs will be.
“I’m hoping that they get 100% percent before they go back to school, so that way they don’t give it to anyone else," Jonathan said.
