The Student Health Center has kept busy this semester, with flu patients steadily strolling in.The Health Center tested more than 160 patients in January and February for the flu, and about 56 percent tested positive.”The flu has been going around a lot,” said Julie Hupperich, Student Health Center associate director. “We saw more this month, but most of our flu cases are usually in January.”Hupperich said the Health Center starts to see flu patients as early as November and throughout March. But the number of patients in the Baton Rouge community peaked this month, which is about a month later than usual.”We typically administer the flu vaccine in October, and within a week or two, students have full resistance,” she said. “So if [the flu] starts to circulate in November, they will be protected.”Hupperich said the high number of cases this year stresses the importance of getting vaccinated.Flu activity can occur as late as May, so getting a vaccine later in the season — in February or even later — can still offer protection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The flu vaccine protects against the three main flu strains that research indicates will cause the most illness during the flu season.The Health Center gave out 550 flu vaccines last semester to faculty and staff and nearly 2,000 to students.This year, less than 10 students who received the vaccine have tested positive for the flu.”People hope that if they get the vaccine it will protect them,” Hupperich said. “That’s not always the case, but those who do contract the flu usually have a milder case.”Hupperich said the number of flu cases tends to slow after February, depending on weather changes.According to Google’s Flu Trends, which estimates flu activity in the United States based on Internet search queries, the overall activity in the U.S. is high. But Louisiana shows “moderate” activity this week  — significantly down from the number of cases last week.Flu symptoms can include fever, extreme tiredness, muscle aches and dry cough, according to the CDC.Students who catch the flu usually miss about a week of class, Hupperich said.”If you do contract the flu, stay home and wait until you’re not contagious,” Hupperich said.She said students who live in residence halls or in an apartment with roommates should disinfect shared household items such as computer keyboards, phones and remote controls to avoid spreading germs.——Contact Leslie Presnall at [email protected]