State - Flu season may have peaked

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- State health officials are cautiously optimistic that the worst of Missouri's flu season may be coming to an end, citing a significant decline in the number of new flu cases recently reported.

"Missouri is still seeing record numbers of flu cases," Dick Dunn, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said Friday. "However, the numbers of cases reported for the past two weeks have begun to decline."

The number of new lab-confirmed influenza cases peaked at 2,975 during the week ending Dec. 13. It remained relatively unchanged the following week, with 2,805 new cases reported, the health department said.

But number of flu cases dropped to 1,813 for the week ending Dec. 27 and fell to 981 during the week ending Jan. 3, the health department said.

Although the figures are subject to rise as reports of new cases trickle in, the numbers show a clear downward trend.

Plus, "we have been hearing anecdotally that the hospital emergency rooms are not seeing as much activity," said Sue Denny, a spokeswoman for the health department's immunization program.

This year's flu season arrived earlier than normal, so Denny said it still is possible that cases could once again spike. But typically, influenza cases hit a single peak, she said.

As of Dec. 27, the latest week for which figures were available, Denny said Missouri had reported 852 flu-related deaths, down from last year's death toll of 1,039 at the same time.

But the number of confirmed flu cases is significantly higher than last year.

From Oct. 1 through Jan. 3, Missouri reported 11,656 laboratory confirmed flu cases. During last year's entire flu season, there were 4,318 cases.