There were more students absent from school because of the flu last week than there were in the same week in the past two years, according to the Kern County Public Health Services Department. 

For the school week ending on Feb. 2nd, 1.2 percent of students who missed school did so because of a flu-like illness, an increase when compared to the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school year. 

In the 2015-16 school year 0.6 percent of students missed school because of the flu, and in the following year, that number increased to 0.9 percent. 

The Kern County Public Health Services Department collects the data as a part of their Influenza Absenteeism Surveillance Program in order to keep track of the number of students that call out of school because of flu-like illnesses. 

There are 72 schools that have submitted data during the 2017-18 flu season.