Flu Is Starting to Climb in Texas. Here Is What the Early Numbers Show.
The share of flu tests coming back positive rose in the latest state report, with the first two outbreaks of the season. State health officials say now is the time to protect your family.
Flu season is getting started in Texas. In the latest Texas Respiratory Virus Surveillance Report, covering Sept. 27 to Oct. 3 and released Oct. 9, the Department of State Health Services said the share of flu tests coming back positive at hospital labs rose to 4.47 percent, up from 3.65 percent the week before.
What the numbers show
Activity is still low. The CDC's statewide indicator for flu-like illness in Texas stayed at "minimal," and the share of doctor visits for flu-like illness dipped slightly to 1.69 percent.
But the direction is up. Four of the state's public health regions reported increased flu activity, up from two the week before. DSHS logged the season's first two flu outbreaks that week. No child flu deaths were reported.
Of the 202 positive tests at reporting hospital labs that week, 192 were influenza A. All 33 that were subtyped were H1N1.
What state officials recommend
DSHS marked Oct. 1 as Texas Influenza Awareness Day and urged Texans 6 months and older to get a flu shot now.
"The best time to protect yourself and your family from flu is now because the body takes about two weeks to make flu antibodies after getting a flu shot," said DSHS Chief Medical Executive Dr. Manda Hall.
DSHS says small children, older adults, pregnant women and people with chronic conditions face the worst risk. People in those groups who get flu symptoms should call a doctor right away, because antiviral drugs work best within 48 hours.
For everyone else, DSHS advice is plain: stay home when sick, cover coughs, and skip the emergency room if symptoms are mild. Once you are fever-free for 24 hours and improving, you can go back to normal activities. People with flu are most contagious in the first three days.
Measles is still around
Flu is not the only thing on the state's radar. As of Sept. 16, the most recent update on the agency's measles page, DSHS reported 192 confirmed measles cases among Texas residents in 2026. The agency notes that a large share are among people held in federal detention facilities, including 136 in Hudspeth County. Twenty-two were locally acquired. That is far below 2025, when Texas had its most cases since 1992.
Common sense and care
Decisions about vaccines belong to families and their doctors, and Texans hold strong views on both sides. Whatever you decide, the basics are not controversial: wash your hands, keep sick kids home, check on elderly neighbors, and do not wait if a baby or grandparent is struggling to breathe.
Loving your neighbor during flu season can be as simple as staying home when you are sick. Our earlier piece on thinking ahead about flu season has more.
Hero photo: U.S. Navy, public domain, cropped and resized.
