Staff report

A dangerous strain of the flu has tested the principal ambulance service in Greater Port Arthur, a company spokesman said.

Richard Zuschlag, CEO and chairman of Lafayette, Louisiana-based Acadian Ambulance, which also serves Southeast Texas, said the service transported 2,211 patients in its service areas Wednesday. That’s a daily transport record for the 46-year-old company.

“We are experiencing a much higher call volume,” Zuschlag said, “with many of those calls related to flu symptoms.”

That jibes with other health-related overviews of flu in the Beaumont-Port Arthur area and in state of Texas.

Walgreen pharmacies have tracked areas around the country for prescriptions for flu medicine, indications of where flu is most affecting people. That flu index suggests that the 10 worst markets for flu are all in Texas, with Beaumont-Port Arthur ranking sixth in the country.

Here are the worst 10 areas for flu, both in Texas and nationally:

1. Tyler-Longview (Lufkin & Nacogdoches)
2. Harlingen-Weslaco-Brownsville-McAllen
3. El Paso, Texas (Las Cruces, N.M.)
4. Waco-Temple-Bryan
5. Corpus Christi, Texas
6. Beaumont-Port Arthur
7. Houston
8. San Antonio
9. Dallas-Ft. Worth
10. Austin, Texas

In mid-December, Beaumont-Port Arthur ranked No. 5. Lafayette has previously ranked as high as No. 9 for flu, according to the index.

Walgreens says the Flu Index provides valuable insight by showing which cities or metropolitan areas are experiencing the most incidences of influenza each week based on index methodology. The data does not measure actual levels or severity of flu activity, the company says.

Acadian Ambulance said that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a dangerous flu has been spreading rapidly across the country, escalating flu season earlier than usual, and to near-epidemic levels. As a result, Acadian said, many hospitals, clinics and ambulance services are being tested in order to respond to the increased patient loads.

Acadian Ambulance has been activating extra crews and units to meet the service demand.

But the increased patient volume is creating some delays in scheduled, non-emergency transports such as facility transfers, Acadian said.