By Lori Ehde
Influenza A and other miscellaneous illnesses continue to affect school attendance and the doctor's office waiting room.
"The numbers are still going up," Luverne School Nurse Deb Vander Kooi said Tuesday.
Last week, the Star Herald reported 64 students out of 1,300 in the district were absent as of Wednesday.
That number climbed to 109 Tuesday, and then dropped to 81 Wednesday. Typical absenteeism is 20 to 24.
Vander Kooi said many recovering students from last week's absent list were still sick Monday,
"If kids went home Thursday, they figured by Monday they could come back, but we sent a lot of them back Monday," she said.
"High school kids, I think, are coming back too soon. It's hard, because they have a lot going on."
Because of the length and severity of the symptoms, she said some students, especially those in the younger grades, are now suffering from residual ailments.
For example, she's heard several reports of sore ears, which may indicate ear infections.
Vander Kooi said at the very least, students should wait to return to school until their temperatures have returned to normal. But even then, it may be too soon. "They need to get their energy back," she said.
She said it's especially important to stay home while symptoms are present because the illness is still contagious, especially with an elevated temperature.
According to staff at Luverne Medical Center, patients are coming in with all kinds of illnesses, including Influenza A.
Dr. Diane Kennedy told the Star Herald last week that most people contracting Influenza A are the ones who had not had a flu shot. "It appears the vaccine has been effective," she said.
Nurses Wednesday said that's still the case, but if an immunized person gets Influenza, the illness is not as severe as it would be without the shot.
Symptoms of Influenza A are sudden onset of a high fever, body aches and coughing that typically lasts five to seven days.