In the years following World War II many life threatening infectious diseases were cured using antibiotics or could be prevented through vaccination.  However, new diseases continue to emerge. New strains of influenza require yearly updates of vaccinations.

The recent surfacing of diseases such as SARS for which there is no cure or vaccination and bio-terrorism threats underscore the need for a good public health system to early detect new diseases in order to prevent a large scale epidemic. Increased resistance of diseases to various antibiotics is another area of concern.

Other concerns include diseases impacting livestock such as hoof and mouth disease that recently resurged in Europe and diseases impact wildlife population such as chronic wasting disease affecting dear populations.

History

No major disease outbreaks have been documented for St. Louis County.

Infectious disease outbreaks can occur as primary events themselves or they may be secondary events to another disaster or emergency such as a terrorist attack or natural disaster.