MISSOURI REPORTS FIRST CASE OF INFLUENZA

The first confirmed case of influenza this fall was reported to the Missouri Department of Health's Southeast District office this week, but an official there says it doesn't necessarily mean the flu season is here."It was a 30-year-old Cape County resident," said Sue Tippon, the communicable-disease coordinator for the state health department's Southeast District office in Poplar Bluff. It was the second reported case of influenza in the state, the first being a 13-year-old in Greene County reported to the state health department Oct. 12.

Tippon said the first confirmed case of flu did come early this year. Last year the first case in the state was reported in November, but it was a visitor from Louisiana, she said. The first Missouri resident with a confirmed case was reported in December last year, she said."But that doesn't mean the flu season is fully under way here," Tippon said.

People don't always go to the doctor with the flu, and even those who do may not go to a doctor that reports to the state health department, she said. Last year there may have been earlier cases of the flu that weren't reported.

While Tippon said it's difficult to say exactly when flu season begins, it is easy to determine when to get a flu vaccination. That time is now, Tippon said."A flu shot taken now will protect you for most of the flu season," Tippon said.

Influenza, commonly called the flu, is caused by viruses that infect the respiratory tract and is spread by direct contact with an infected person or by airborne droplets. Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, headache, muscle aches and fatigue.

The most effective way to protect yourself from the flu is with a vaccine, the state health department says. Those vaccines are available at the Cape Girardeau County Health Department, doctor offices and health-care clinics.

It takes 10 days to two weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop and provide protection.