There was one flu death in Iowa last week. Iowa’s outpatient visits due to influenza-like illness was above the regional baseline. According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, 3.5% of outpatient visits were due to influenza-like illness and the baseline is 1.7%. There were 57 influenza-related hospitalizations last week and there were 219 cases of RSV.

Washington County Public Health Director Danielle Pettit-Majewski encourages people to prevent the spread of illness, “RSV is respiratory syncytial virus and it is transferred when a person coughs or sneezes. And so again I’m going to just put a plug in right here, it’s a good opportunity to make sure that you are always covering your cough, coughing into your elbow not necessarily your hand, to try to prevent that type of spread not just for RSV but for all sorts of viruses that are spread that way.” Also remember to wash your hands frequently and stay home when you’re under the weather to prevent the spread of illness.

Since November, there have been 12 flu-related deaths in Iowa, all have been adults.