LAREDO,
TX . . . AUSTIN, TX (PRWeb)
Oct.
13, 2012 (PRWEB) October 13, 2012 -- The Texas State Dept. of Health Services
(TSDHS) in Austin confirmed this week two Laredo school districts are reporting
influenza cases this season, which are running at levels six times higher than
in 2011.
The
state’s acknowledgement is in sharp contrast to a recent report of sparse flu
activity in the United States by the national Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. The CDC is now conducting further confirmatory
testing, which was spurred by a new in-the-field surveillance system.
“This
surprising early influenza outbreak – at levels usually seen only in the winter
months – has been present almost from the onset in late August of the fall 2012
semester for both the Laredo Independent (LISD) and United Independent (UISD)
school districts,” said Dr. Vincent Friedewald, Chief Medical Officer for Argus1
Systems, Austin.
The
TSDHS this week identified samples obtained from children in the Laredo outbreak
to be Type B influenza virus, and not the swine flu variety being sporadically
reported across the USA during the past summer.
The
testing of samples was spurred by the Laredo school districts’ use of a highly
advanced, Internet-based, instant reporting system developed by Argus1 Systems
Corp. of Austin, TX.
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