At this time last year, Alachua County was preparing for flu season. But this year, the area has been prepared since May - when the county saw its first case of H1N1 swine flu.
In Florida, the flu season usually begins in the fall and ends in April, but UF's Student Health Care Center has had more than 800 visits for influenza this semester, according to the SHCC spokesman Guy Nicolette.
During last year's entire flu season, the center only had 566 visits, he said.
People who are 6 months to 24 years old are more at risk than those 25 and older, Nicolette said.
"If you were born before 1957, your body has seen something similar to this in the past, and your body is less at risk to become infected," said Paul Myers, assistant director of the Alachua County Health Department (ACHD).
Myers said about 30,000 people in Alachua County get the seasonal flu each year. This year, he said he would not be surprised if 50,000 people in the county get sick. The ACHD expects about 20 percent of UF students, about 10,000, will get sick over the course of the season.
In August, the SHCC stopped testing its patients for the H1N1 swine flu. Doctors assumed the patient had it if he or she had flu-like symptoms.
"There are other organisms out there that are starting to make their appearance on the stage, but of those diagnosed with influenza, it's still almost 100 percent H1N1," Myers said.
Sara Klee, a UF wildlife ecology senior, said the thing she remembers most about getting the swine flu was the coughing.
"The first night I coughed so much that I bled," she said.
But Klee also said she thinks all the hype about the swine flu is exaggerated.
"I've certainly been sicker than this," Klee said. "It was not the end of the world."
Generally, a young, healthy person who does not have a preexisting medical condition will recover successfully, Nicolette said.
He said preparation is just as important as prevention. He advises students to bar themselves with information by going to the UF Web site, calling the SHCC and, most importantly, by taking their temperatures.
"Temperature is called a vital sign for a reason," Nicolette said. "There's so much information to be gained from just a simple temperature."
