HEALTH OFFICIALS CONFIRM FLU VIRUS IN MISSOURI, BUT NOT IN AREA

POPLAR BLUFF -- The flu virus is creeping closer to Cape Girardeau and Southeast Missouri.

The Missouri Department of Health said Monday the latest confirmed cases of flu virus were reported in St. Louis County and in Texas County, 115 miles west of Poplar Bluff.

Statewide, 35 laboratory-confirmed cases of flu virus have now been reported, state health officials said. Other flu outbreaks have occurred in the Kansas City area and in Brookfield, in central Missouri.

Sue Tippen, communicable disease coordinator for the Missouri Department of Health's Southeast Missouri District, said the latest outbreaks occurred at Washington University in St. Louis and in the Cabool public school system in Texas County.

The outbreak at Washington University was confirmed late last week after throat swabs were taken from four students. At least 200 students on the main campus have had flu-like symptoms, including fevers and aches, in the last two weeks.

Tippen said the outbreak in the Cabool schools started Nov. 12. "The school nurse called me and said the absentee rate was rising sharply," she said. "It started in the elementary and middle schools and moved into the high school."

Tippen said she has not received any reports of confirmed flu cases in the Bootheel area or Cape Girardeau. "However, we are seeing a large increase in what we call non-laboratory confirmed, flu-like illnesses that display many of the symptoms of the flu virus," she said.

For example, last week, there were 311 illnesses with flu-like symptoms reported in Southeast Missouri. That was 207 more than the 104 cases reported the week before.

Despite the absence of confirmed flu virus in this area, Tippen says it's only a matter of time until the viral infection strikes Southeast Missouri.

"The virus will be spread as the junior and senior high school and college basketball season gets under way and the teams begin playing other schools outside their area," she said. "And, with the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays approaching, many college, high school and elementary school-age students will carry the virus home with them, or pass it on to others."

Tippen said all of the confirmed flu cases in the state were caused by the A/Beijing virus, one of three strains of flu virus health officials say will be the most deadly this winter.

The A/Beijing is the same strain that caused the flu outbreak that forced the closure of the Nashville, Tenn., schools earlier this month. The other two strains expected to be strong this winter are A/Taiwan and B/Panama.

The typical flu symptoms are fever, severe muscle pain, headache, fatigue and a dry, hacking cough. Other symptoms may include nausea, diarrhea, and loss of appetite.

Tippen said for those healthy individuals who get the flu, the effects will usually last about 4-5 days.

However, for those "at risk" individuals, the flu virus can be much more dangerous, she said.

"At risk" people include adults and children with chronic disorders of the heart, including those with asthma, residents of nursing homes or other chronic-care facilities and otherwise healthy people who are about 65 or older.

Others at risk include physicians, nurses and other health care providers who come in daily contact with the high-risk patients, and those who provide home care for high-risk patients. Other high risk individuals include pregnant women, those infected with HIV and people who travel a lot.

Tippen said there is still time to get a flu shot, but added it takes two weeks for it to become effective.

Health officials warn parents that children who contract the flu and have aches or fever should not be given aspirin or other salicyates because of the risk of Reye Syndrome. Instead, they recommend acetaminophen be given.

Tippen said treatment for uncomplicated influenza includes bed rest, drinking lots of fluids to prevent dehydration, medication to relieve cough and sore throat symptoms, and either aspirin or an aspirin substitute to reduce the fever.

Last winter, there 987 deaths in Missouri due to pneumonia and influenza, which was very close to the previous year's total.