Texas health officials have issued new guidelines for treating flu patients amid the spreading illness and at least five deaths blamed on swine flu.
The new guidelines come as officials in Houston say swine flu has been confirmed as the cause of death for three men.
The Northeast Texas Public Health District confirms two people who died this week at a Longview hospital had the H1N1 virus.
In Conroe, near Houston, officials have reported two cases of swine flu in patients and they are still waiting on test results to determine if four recent deaths can be attributed to the flu strain, also known as the H1N1 virus.
State health officials Friday asked doctors to prescribe antiviral treatments for patients with flu-like symptoms, even if initial tests come back negative.
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