Index: Beaumont-Port Arthur flu cases rise

Published 11:26 am Friday, January 19, 2018

Staff report

Beaumont-Port Arthur, beset with flu cases for the past month, nonetheless made a rapid rise in a pharmaceutical company’s national measure of flu cases.

Walgreens designated market area of Beaumont-Port Arthur ranked No. 3 in the U.S. for flu activity, based on the company’s Flu Index, which uses weekly prescription data.

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According to Walgreens’ accounting, seven of the top eight DMAs in the U.S. were in Texas, led by Corpus Christi and Waco-Temple-Bryan. Last week, all top 10 markets for flu cases were in Texas, but Knoxville, Tennessee ranked No. 6 this week.

Beaumont-Port Arthur also ranked No. 10 among markets with “flu activity gains,” according to Walgreens. Other Texas markets in the top 10 were No. 1 El Paso-Las Cruces, New Mexico; No. 2 Corpus Christi; and No. 9 Waco-Temple-Bryan.

Texas ranked No. 4 among states with flu activity gains.

Deerfield, Illinois-based Walgreens says the index does not measure flu levels or severity, but suggests areas most affected by flu.