Whooping cough, high absences from illnesses close some Iowa schools

Amid a surge of illnesses including whooping cough, several school districts across the state have had to cancel classes in recent weeks.

In Bloomfield, the Davis County Community School District closed schools Friday after there was a confirmed case of whooping cough at one of the district’s elementary schools.

The school district’s administrative and health team said in a social media post Friday schools will reopen Monday as the district has worked with local and state health officials “to address exposure to whooping cough within our schools.”

Staff and students identified as potentially having close contact or exposure to the disease in the school district have been notified, according to the post.

“Everyone identified has been contacted and provided guidance from local and state Health and Human Services,” the social media post stated. “Please monitor your household for the symptoms listed in the previous letter and follow the recommended steps if anyone becomes ill.”

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a highly contagious illness that can resemble a common cold but leave an infected person with a cough that lasts weeks or months, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The CDC recommends vaccination to prevent whooping cough, in addition to treating the illness with antibiotics to prevent serious infections.

In Moulton in far southern Iowa, the Moulton-Udell School District canceled classes on Dec. 9 and 10 “due to an extremely high percentage of students and staff out with illness,” according to a social media post from the district. KCCI reported roughly 30 percent of the district’s students and staff were absent, many of whom contracted influenza A, a strain of the flu.

Flu shots are still currently available at many pharmacies and health care providers, and are formulated to provide protections against Influenza Type A and B viruses, according to the CDC.

These are not the only schools experiencing high rates of illnesses in Iowa. The state Department of Health and Human Services reported in its weekly Iowa Respiratory Virus Surveillance Report from Nov. 30 through Dec. 6, there were four schools with at least 10 percent illness rates in Iowa, calculated using daily student absences and sentinel school weekly illness totals. Two schools in Appanoose County, one in Johnson County and another in Scott County reached this 10 percent threshold to be included in the report.

After the first flu death of the year in November — an older adult from southwest Iowa — Iowa HHS advised Iowans to consider vaccinations and other precautionary measures like good hygiene practice and keeping children home from daycare or school if they have symptoms like a fever, cough, congestion, runny nose or sore throat.

According to Iowa HHS data, roughly 26.7 percent of Iowans have received flu vaccines for the 2025-2026 flu season.

As people gather to celebrate holidays, State Medical Director Dr. Robert Kruse said in a statement that Iowans should take steps to keep themselves and loved ones healthy this winter.

“To keep those celebrations, our workplaces and our communities safe and healthy, I encourage everyone to stay home when feeling sick and to talk with your health care provider about vaccination,” Kruse said.

This article was first published by Iowa Capital Dispatch.