Is the flu on the rise in Missouri?

Source: http://www.healthmap.org/en/

This 2015-16 flu season has been a real sleeper! Up until February, the charts showing Missouri citizens show up with flu-like symptoms had flat lined. And, while that should be good news, it left me with questions. In any typical winter season, in the US, the flu will kill about thirty six thousand individuals, nation-wide. This year, not so much. And so, I became suspicious.

Feb 10, 2016 - An elementary school in a small town near the border on the Missouri-Arkansas border apparently 'closed down due to a flu like illness' - Early reports were that the sickness rate, whatever the cause, was in excess of 30%!

Of additional concern was the above graphic! Note that the CDC does not support a hot line reporting channel. Why? I don't know. And, while all these flu dots may be an anomaly or Internet glitch, I still had cause to want to check things out. Stay tuned. I will update this after talking with the school officials on Thursday, Feb 11, 2016!

Feb 11, 2016 - I tried calling the Mark Twain Elementary school located in Kissee Mill, MO after getting information from a Face Book friend that the school had closed down due to a high incidence of something resembling the 'flu'. I did not reach anyone and was forced to leave a voicemail. As of later that morning, I had still not gotten a call back. So, the mystery continued...

Feb 12, 2016 - I did spot a short article posted online by KTTS radio. I submitted an inquiry to see if they would followup to say if it was actually the flu that hit 30% of the kids and if some would be tested to see if the strain was H1N1. They did call back and stated there would be no followup.