Bell Reports On Cases Of Hepatitis A, Pertussis, Flu

Sandra Bell, executive director of the Ste. Genevieve County Health Department, reported last week that Missouri has had 541 cases of Hepatitis A, with 42 counties so far reporting cases.

She also said there has been a Pertussis outbreak in Festus, with two cases reported in Ste. Genevieve County as well as four in St. Francois County.

Bell, giving her director’s report during the monthly county health board meeting on November 25, said the Festus Pertussis cases were high school students who had been vaccinated in junior high and said speculation has it that the Pertussis vaccine may have been bad one year.

“They were all vaccinated the same year,” she said. “So there’s a theory that perhaps that year’s vaccine may have something … that the vaccine may not have been as effective.”

She also reported that 14 flu cases have been reported in the county.

See complete story in the December 4 edition of the Herald.