By Veigh Redwine, Staff Writer

Although flu season occurs yearly, this year the hype surrounding flu season is greater with the infamous H1N1 virus, more commonly known as “swine flu.” Your classrooms may feel much emptier, since “absences increase by about a third during flu season,” said Ms. Lacko of the health office. “The flu season this year is worse than it has been in past years,” said science teacher, Kurt Mitthof, “I’ve had nearly six absences a day for the past two weeks.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control website, flu season takes place during winter, starting in October and peaking around January. Symptoms of typical influenza include fever, headache, tiredness, dry cough, runny nose, muscle aches, and nausea. Symptoms of H1N1 are the same as those of typical influenza, but some with H1N1 require medical attention to get better. The CDC also suggests that those with H1N1 remain away from people, as they are extremely contagious until 24 hours after their fever breaks.

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