SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Health departments in the Ozarks are warning people about a recent increase in flu and whooping cough cases.
According to a press release from the Springfield-Greene County Health Department (SGCHD), flu cases in Greene County have nearly doubled over the last three weeks, giving January 2025 one of the highest rates of flu in the county since 2003.
Greene County also saw 21 cases of pertussis (also known as whooping cough) in the first 36 days of the year. Cases of whooping cough are trending upward, SGCHD says, with 72 total cases for 2024. Historically, Greene County sees an average of 13 cases in a 12-month period.
City Utilities of Springfield outlines plans for rate hikes
SGCHD says pertussis can be particularly dangerous for infants and young children. A third of infants who contract whooping cough end up hospitalized and can experience serious problems like apnea (life-threatening pauses in breathing) and pneumonia. Immunocompromised individuals and those with moderate to severe asthma are also at higher risk of more severe pertussis cases…