EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) – A lot of Tri-Staters are sick. the flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control, is spreading thru the state. And so is strep, and whooping cough.

It's the flu, strep throat and whooping cough. but doctors tell 14 News the flu is definitely the front runner.

Both the University of Southern Indiana and the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation report a spike in flu cases. in fact last week, flu like symptoms resulted in a ten percent absence rate at several EVSC elementary schools.

A family doctor says in her office strep throat and whooping cough are the runners up. usually she says she sees one strep case a month, now it's more like a couple cases a day.

“People vitamin D level is low that's going to make you more susceptible. People are in close quarters their in contact with one another in small groups and of course they are sneezing and coughing and all that good stuff. so they are spreading it around that way,” Anne Butsch, M.D. of Evansville Integrative Medicine says.

Doctors say if you get a flu shot it's likely you won't get it. but, if you do get the flu, doctors say stay home from work or school.

The flu virus is highly contagious. And another a bit of information, people can infect others a day before symptoms develop and up to five to seven days after becoming sick.

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