Flu cases levelling off; St. Louis emergency room visits drop sharply
Fred Bodimer Reporting
ST. LOUIS (KMOX) -- Local emergency rooms are getting back to normal as it appears the recent onslaught of influenza cases may be over for now.
Infectious diseases specialist Dr. Dennis O'Connor says emergency room visits to Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center have dropped considerably.
"The ER clinic visits average about one-hundred-thirty a day this time of year," Dr. O'Connor says. "They doubled that during the peak influenza situation."
"And now we're back down to the normal levels on a day-to-day basis."
It's the same story at St. Louis Childrens Hospital -- ER volumes tapering off dramatically.
Both hospitals report they are no longer using their overflow tents sent up in September to handle the big increase, although they are not ruling out another surge in H1N1 cases later in the season.
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