DeKalb, beware. Flu season is here.

During the month of November, the flu bug will be at its highest point, and although NIU students don’t necessarily have to take extreme caution to combat the bug, other DeKalb residents might.

Karen Grush, public health administrator at the DeKalb County Health Department, said more than 20,000 Americans will die from influenza this year.

Grush said because people often mistake the flu for some other disease, they don’t take it seriously. The bugs that are frequently mistaken for the flu are colds and stomach viruses that cause nausea, vomiting or diarrhea, she said.

The flu does indeed cause these problems, but it also causes fevers, chills, sore throats, headaches, muscle aches, pains and coughing.

As far as NIU students are concerned, Grush said, the flu isn’t life-threatening, because most are in relatively good health. At the highest risk are those over age 65 and adults and children with serious chronic heart or lung problems and those with diabetes.

In order to combat the flu, Grush recomends those who fall into the high-risk category receive the flu shot. Although Grush reports the vaccine is not fully effective, it reduces the severity of the symptoms as well as preventing flu-related deaths.

Those who do not fall into the high-risk category, such as students, “May elect to obtain the shot,even though they really don’t need it,” Grush said. She also said, “The best way to avoid getting sick (from the flu) is to avoid those who have it.”

Those students who wish to receive the shot can consult the University Health Center, while those who fall into the high-risk category can get the shot on Nov. 15 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the DeKalb County Health Department. There will be a $5 charge, and the protection will last for 10 months.