School Flu Absences Trending A Bit Higher Than Past 5 Years
Flu-related school absences in Kane County are trending a little higher than in the past five years.
According to the Kane County Health Department’s weekly Influenza Surveillance Summary, the flu-related absenteeism rate for Kane County schools was .17 percent in Week 43 from Oct. 25 to Oct. 31, 2015 — so it’s pretty fair to say there isn’t anything to worry about at this point. The highest it’s been in the past seven years is 1.4 percent in 2009-10.
The thing to notice about the charts is that there’s usually one big spike every year. For example, here’s the “main” chart in the weekly report, which measures percentage of Emergency Room visits.
As you can see, there was a big spike early in the 2009-10 season (that’s the blue line). The next-biggest bump was last flu season (2014-15), when we saw up to about 9 percent of ER visits due to the flu or flu-like illnesses. That reddish line indicates that the bug peaked during the holiday season, around the 48th week of the 2014 calendar year.
Another crest (darker green line) hit its peak in Week 52 of the 2012-13 flu season.
If you’re a parent with school-age kids, all this means is that you can probably expect to see that big bump in the road at some time in the year. This article offers a reminder to stay tuned to the Kane County Health Department’s excellent Weekly Flu Monitoring Report, make sure to get a flu shot if you can, and take advantage of some of the Health Department’s online resources.
About the Kane County Health Department
In active partnership with our community, the Kane County Health Department improves the quality of life and well-being of all residents by developing and implementing local policies, systems, and services that protect and promote health, and prevent disease, injury and disability. Visit the Health Department’s Facebook Page and sign up for the award-winning “Health Matters” newsletter.
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