The latest local news, weather and high school sports from the Heartland

FAIRFIELD, IA -- For Monday’s “Facebook Story of the Day,” viewers wanted to know what effects the mild winter weather has had on Iowa’s flu season.

According to the CDC, flu season didn’t start this year until the week of Feb. 4. This is considerably later than previous years.

“There were only 8.2 percent of samples tested for flu that were positive which is less than the baseline. Flu is considered widespread at 10 percent,” says Infection Control Practitioner at Jefferson County Health center Jim Schwarz.

Iowa is well below that number already for being the end of February.

“Usually flu season ends at the end of March, so we’re looking going for a very mild flu season this year,” says Schwarz.

Symptoms of the flu include entire body aches, coughing, and fever to name a few. If you catch the flu early enough, there are antibiotics available through your health care professional to lessen the symptoms.

Schwarz stressed that it is still a good idea to get a flu shot if you haven’t already.