Undefined Variable - bind_result

When using mysqli_stmt->bind_result, the variable(s) used are regarded as undefined. For instance,

$stmt = $this->con->prepare("select count(*) from table1 where col1 = 1")
$stmt->execute();
$stmt->bind_result($count);
$stmt->fetch();
$stmt->close();


if ($count > = 0) { ... }


The $count variable is regarded as an undefined variable. Obviously, adding an initializer somewhere above the statement fixes the issue, but it's not required by the language and shouldn't be required by the development environment.

Thanks.

Jason