There are 18 people hospitalized with the flu in Hidalgo County and six of them are receiving treatment in intensive care units, county officials reported Tuesday.
Hidalgo County reported the daily active patient count on social media, saying it would update the number of patients hospitalized with the flu throughout the week. The county will continue providing updates until the end of flu season in May.
Illness from the influenza virus can typically occur one to four days after the virus enters the body, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Symptoms can include fever or feeling feverish/chills, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, headache, muscle or body aches and tiredness.
Children with the flu commonly develop an ear infection, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
The flu has already been proven responsible for the death of one child in the Rio Grande Valley.
State health officials confirmed the 3-year-old girl died from the flu.
She is the second child in Texas to have died from the flu this season, which began Oct. 2, according to a flu activity report from DSHS.
