Feb 27, 2024 - Education

Iowa students are reporting higher illness rates

Linh Ta

A map showing influenza levels, Iowa is marked red for high levels — Influenza map ending Feb 17, 2024; red indicates high levels while green shows minimal; chart via Centers for Disease Control

Iowa schools are experiencing an uptick in illnesses, according to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.

State of play: In mid-January, three schools reported at least 10% of their students absent due to illnesses. That jumped to 60 schools last week, according to HHS.

The most common symptoms reported the last two weeks were sore throat, fever, headache, nausea and vomiting.
For the week of Feb. 4-10, the most common illness was influenza (24%) followed by rhinovirus (10%).

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Iowa students are reporting higher illness rates

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