St. Charles County Department of Community
Health & The Environment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, April 25, 2005
CONTACT:
Gil Coply, Director, Department of Community Health & The Environment 636-949-7407
Julie Burkemper, Public Information Officer 636-949-7408
St. Charles County Department of Community Health and the
Environment Issues 2004-2005 Influenza Report
Season started later than usual and lower number of cases were reported
St. Charles County -The St. Charles County Department of Community Health and the Environment reported 764 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza during the 2004-2005 flu season. Twenty-eight percent of the reported cases occurred in children between the ages of 5 and 14. The influenza cases occurred between October 21, 2004 and April 17, 2005 as were reported by area physicians, hospitals and urgent care centers. The peak of the influenza outbreak in St. Charles County occurred the week of February 14 - February 20, 2005.
“We hope that the increased public awareness generated by the 2004 – 2005 flu numbers will remind citizens that influenza is unpredictable, can be very serious and sometimes deadly. Hopefully this knowledge will prompt residents to continue practicing good health and hygiene habits, especially proper hand washing and seeking flu vaccine,” stated Gil Copley, Director of St. Charles County Department of Community Health and the Environment.
To plan for the upcoming 2005-2006 influenza season, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has met with influenza vaccine manufacturers to develop supply projections and distribution strategies, including advance ordering of vaccine and partial shipment of advanced orders.
The complete 2004-2005 St. Charles County Influenza Report is available online in PDF and Word format at www.scchealth.org or by contacting the St. Charles County Department of Community Health and the Environment at 636-949-7400.
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