Influenza cases beginning to decrease as winter subsides

While the cold weather rages on, Influenza cases still persist but in Buchanan county they are starting to see a slight drop. 

Flu illnesses are measured by determining the positive tests of a population then dividing that number by the population size and multiplying it by 100,000.   

According to the Missouri Department of Health, in the past couple of weeks the rates have decreased from approximately 238 cases down to approximately 163.

"They're (reported flu illnesses) on a slight decrease," St. Joseph Health Educator Kay Smith said. "But, we still have a lot of cases of Influenza, with Influenza A being the the main virus that everybody's seeing right now."

Among the various strains, Influenza type A has been the most dominant making up 96.1% of the reported cases nationwide and 98% of locally reported cases.

At the national level, numbers are not as promising with the CDC reporting an approximate 2.2% increase in positive Influenza tests between the end of January up to now. 

The CDC estimates that between October 1, 2024 to February 8, 2025 there have been approximately 29-51 million flu illnesses reported. Of those reported flu cases, it is estimated that 370,000 to 820,000 led to hospitalizations.

While the rates of reported flu illnesses decreasing is a promising update, it is still important for individuals to perform proper safety precautions such as washing their hands and staying at home if they feel sick.

"It sounds kind of silly that you have to tell people to wash their hands, but that's a good way to to keep it from spreading," Smith said. "If you do get sick, you need to make sure and stay home. That that's very important because if you go to school and or work, then you're spreading it to other people. If you have a small office that can put a lot of your employees out at one time."