Dell Children's Medical Center in Austin, Texas, is having one of its busiest flu seasons in the past decade, reporting it has seen 65 patients a day with flu symptoms in the last week of January, according to NBC affiliate KXAN-TV.
Eric Higginbotham, MD, chief of pediatric emergency medicine for the hospital, told KXAN-TV that this flu season is close to the worst one he has ever seen at the hospital. He has been with the children's hospital since 2007.
"2009 is going to be the closest I've seen to this flu season," said Dr. Higginbotham. "That's when we had the medical tents out front. This season isn't as bad as yet."
He expects there will be a rise in flu cases over the coming weeks, particularly of the influenza A strain. The B strain has been dominant thus far.
The flu has caused 15 million illnesses, 140,000 hospitalizations and 8,200 deaths this season.
Thirty-five states are experiencing high flu-like illness activity, including Texas.