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Kansas City, MO – Missouri health officials report it's been an unusually mild year for the flu. KCUR's Elana Gordon has more.
Flu season can run anytime from October through May and usually includes a couple of spikes in cases. Last year, Missouri's biggest peak occurred in mid to late February - the state documented more than 5,000 cases during that period alone. Jeff Hershberger is with the Kansas City Missouri Health Department and says overall, the number of flu incidents has been extremely low this year.
Hershberger: There's been 321 in the northwest region and 2,019 across the state. The 5 year median at this time of year across the state is 12,400.
Hershberger says despite the low number of cases, flu season isn't over yet. He says people should still take precautions. That can include things like regular hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes with one's elbow as opposed to a bare hand, and staying home when feeling ill.
Funding for health care coverage on KCUR has been provided by the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City.
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