More cases of influenza B have popped up around Marshalltown in the last week but it is nothing to get excited over yet.

Officials from UnityPoint-Marshalltown and the Marshalltown School District have all noted the increase and are watching it but are not calling it an outbreak.

Stacey Tool-Crawford, the nurse for the school district, said there have been a few scattered cases of influenza B since the students have returned from the Thanksgiving holiday. However, there are a lot of bugs and viruses that students have brought back with them.

“I am seeing more influenza symptoms — cough, sore throat, but also upper respiratory illness and stomach flus,” she said. “Attendance has not fluctuated a lot.”

That does not mean nothing more serious can happen in the future. Tool-Crawford said if a school building in the district has an absence rate of 10 percent of the student population at once, and that 10 percent is confirmed to be due to illness, then she has to notify the state Department of Public Health.

“We are nowhere near that,” Tool-Crawford said.

Putting that into perspective, she said an example of making a report to the state would be if 150 Marshalltown High School students were all absent and had confirmed illness. In the nine years Tool-Crawford has served as the nurse for the high school, she has never seen the required 10 percent.

In the event of a state report, Tool-Crawford said the district would increase cleaning of the buildings. She said the janitors would perform extra duties and after a few days of extra cleaning, Tool-Crawford said the issue tends to resolve itself. Also, the district would send an email to parents notifying them of the increased rate of illness.

“We tell parents to keep their children home if they are sick,” Tool-Crawford said. “We also stress good hand washing and seeing providers if symptoms extend beyond what is normal.”

She also said it is not too late to get the influenza vaccine, which takes two weeks to become fully effective. By getting the vaccine, not only is a person protecting themselves, but also protecting people who are unable to get the vaccine — such as 6-month-old babies.

Dr. Blaine Westemeyer with UnityPoint – Marshalltown said he has seen an uptick in the number of influenza cases go through the hospital emergency room. Within the last month, he has seen a handful of cases — enough to contact the Department of Public Health. Westemeyer was told there has been an increase in influenza numbers starting in southwestern Iowa.

“There are no outbreak numbers here or in Des Moines yet,” Westemeyer said. “There is sporadic activity.”

Whether or not an outbreak is hovering on the horizon remains to be seen. The physician said right now the flu is showing typical activity given the time of year.

“There is always a variation, especially with the cold weather and people spending more time indoors,” Westemeyer said.

Like Tool-Crawford, he urged people to get vaccines to protect the vulnerable in the community. The flu can still be fatal to infants and the elderly, Westemeyer said.

Symptoms of influenza B:

• Fever

• Muscle or body aches

• Chills

• Sore throat

• Fatigue

• Runny nose

• Sneezing

• Coughing

Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com