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The Saint Louis County Department of Health was already reporting high flu numbers, as of  Oct. 1– the traditional start of the annual flu season.

“Because we anticipated higher numbers this year, the department started its flu surveillance earlier than usual,” said Dr. Dolores J. Gunn, Director of the Health Department. “We normally don’t start flu surveillance until the first week of October and usually don’t see our first flu cases until late October or early November.”

This year, the Health Department started flu surveillance during the first week of September and quickly found that flu was already prevalent in the community.  There were 51 flu cases reported during the first surveillance week, which ended on Sept. 6.  The three following weeks have seen increasingly higher numbers:

“In reality, the flu never went away over the summer as it normally does.  Now that school is back in session and the weather is growing colder, we are seeing our flu numbers rise again,” said Dr. Gunn.

The health department emphasizes that surveillance numbers only represent a portion of the actual flu cases in the area.  The real numbers are likely much higher.  Since most flu cases are not treated in hospitals or clinics, they do not get included in the surveillance totals.  Instead, the numbers collected serve as an indicator of disease prevalence in the community and are used by the health department to track how it is moving through the population.

“What we know at this point is that the flu is definitely here and in numbers much higher than we normally see this early in the season,” said Dr. Gunn.

During the 2006-2007 flu season, a total of 1,121 flu cases were reported for the entire season; during the 2007-2008 season, a total of 3,550 flu cases were reported; and during the 2009-2009 flu season, a total of 1,176 flu cases were reported.  As mentioned earlier, there have already been 495 flu cases reported for the 2009-2010 season.

A vaccine for the new H1N1 flu is expected to begin arriving in the Saint Louis area within the next several weeks.  Once it is available, information on where to be vaccinated against the new H1N1 virus will be announced by the health department.

“The most important thing to remember is that until the vaccine for the new H1N1 flu arrives, our focus has to be on prevention,” said Dr. Gunn.  “So follow the standard recommendations, and if you haven’t already gotten your seasonal flu shot or seasonal flu mist, please do so.”

To find out where to go for seasonal flu vaccinations, call the Flu Vaccination Hotline or visit the Saint Louis County Flu website: 314-644-4FLU (4358) www.SaintLouisCountyFlu.com

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