DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Officials say at least 32 care centers in Iowa have had outbreaks of influenza recently, despite safeguards like vaccination and sanitation measures. Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, the state’s top infectious disease expert, says she’s received daily reports of the disease affecting nursing homes, assisted living centers and other care facilities. She says the rate of infection is higher than it’s been in the past.

At the Bishop Drumm Retirement Center in Johnston, every resident and employee was vaccinated. But the virus spread at the center in December. Several residents required hospitalization. Quinlisk tells The Des Moines Register that the flu contributes to hundreds of deaths of the elderly in Iowa during a typical year.