KALAMAZOO (WKZO AM/FM) — Officials at the Centers for Disease Control say this flu season just keeps getting worse and they aren’t sure why. Statistics were updated on Friday, setting the pediatric death toll at 63. They say they haven’t seen numbers this high since 2009, the year of the swine flu pandemic.
Kalamazoo Schools Superintendent Dr. Michael Rice is once again asking parents to keep their kids home if they show any symptoms of the flu.
He says closing the school for two days prior to last weekend helped, but within a few days they had to close two elementary schools again because of the spread of the virus.
With the State Health Department now showing a spike in cases in the region and no signs that the season is over, it could result in more closures.
Health officials say flu victims should remain isolated until 24-hours after their symptoms go away, to make sure they are not contagious.
They say they have seen cases where people got sick from two different strains at different times during this one flu season.
