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GoogleThe school nurse Stephanie Feenstra reported that most of the students who stayed home were reporting influenza or strep.
"When you talk about getting close to 10 percent of the student body, that's a big number," said Superintendent Todd Wendt.
LCS's High School student population runs close to 700, and the middle school around 480.
The Le Mars schools aren't alone. According to the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), the influenza season is in full swing in Iowa. The number of students missing school because they are sick has nearly doubled since December, the state department reported.
This is one time state officials are glad to see people skipping school. The IDPH is urging parents to keep sick students home from classes.
Students aren't the only ones calling in sick.
States reporting the influenza shot up from 11 to 31 in the past week, according to reports from the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
Accoring to IDPH epidemiologist Meghan Harris, the virus is hitting people across the board.
"The flu bug isn't picky this year," she stated. "We're seeing all age groups getting sick with the flu."
Harris said that the number of influenza cases is peaking and will likely stay up there through February.
The icy temperatures aren't helping, according to a press release from IDPH. They said that the longer it stays cold outside, the longer flu season lasts.
The IDPH is still pushing for people to get the flu shot, noting that flu season can drag on even until May.
They are also reminding people to wash their hands frequently and coughing into their sleeves to help prevent the spread of influenza.
The most common symptoms of influenza, according to the IDPH, are fever, headache, tiredness, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion and body aches. Most people recover from influenza within a week, but the virus can cause complications such as pneumonia in the very young, the elderly, or those with chronic diseases.
For more information on influenza, visit http://www.idph.state.ia.us/adper/flu.as....
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My 1 and 3 year old just got done with their antibiotics for strep tonight. These kids do not go to daycare so how they caught it is beyond me, so it just shows you that these bugs are everywhere.