The Lincoln Trail Health Department, like other healthcare providers, are getting ready for another flu season by better informing people on the differences between the H1N1 virus and the seasonal flu.

The regular flu vaccine is available for distribution now, but he H1N1 vaccines will not be available until the end of October.

According to the Center for Disease Control, this year’s flu season officially will begin on October 4 and will last through late spring. Currently flu activity in Kentucky is widespread, meaning over half of the state’s regions are experiencing greater than expected amounts of flu-like illnesses.

With this being said, local healthcare providers are doing what they can to be prepared in the event of an emergency.

Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center is hosting a drive-thru flu shot clinic, and the Lincoln Trail Health Department is getting information about the differences between the two viruses.

Lincoln Trail Clinical Director Gigi Meredith said numbers are still down with reported cases of the H1N1 virus.

“We know it is out there,” Meredith explained, “but we are not getting definite reports as of yet. Since last spring we have had five cases. We are trying to get information out there about the virus though, so people can be better informed. When it first came out (H1N1) we did not know how severe it was going to be. Now we realize that it is not any worse than the seasonal flu.”

Some of the symptoms seen more commonly in children for the H1N1 are diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain. These are key differences from the seasonal flu that healthcare providers look for when diagnosing a patient.

The H1N1 flu is similar to the seasonal flu. It is spread through droplets that enter the air by the coughing or sneezing of infected people. Just like seasonal flu, the symptoms of H1N1 flu are fever, chills, coughing, headache, sore throat, sneezing, and muscle aches. Although the number of people hospitalized with a flu-like illness is unusually high for this time of year, the amount due to H1N1 flu is about the same as for seasonal flu, in all age groups. Both types of viruses are treated the same way.

The CDC recommends a three-pronged approach to fighting the flu, which applies to both seasonal flu and the H1N1 flu virus; get vaccinated, people to cover their mouth when they cough, wash hands frequently, and stay home when feeling ill until being free of a fever for 24 hours without the help of medication. The last thing is to use anti-viral medications if sick with the flu, and if a doctor recommends them.