The Student Health Center saw an uptick in the number of cases of flu or influenza-like illnesses after the first big weekend back on campus, but the numbers were typical for a flu season, the medical director of student health services said Tuesday.

Dr. Louise Hanson said Student Health saw 23 ILIs on Monday after seeing eight on Saturday morning. Monday is usually the busiest day of the week for Student Health, Hanson said in an interview last week, and while the numbers are an increase over what has been seen so far this semester, it's not unusual for a day in January, when flu season is in full swing.

It is, however, uncommon for the last day of August.

Seasonal flu season at Vanderbilt has started over a month earlier than normal after Student Health learned of its first confirmation of seasonal influenza last week. Previously, H1N1, the derivative of influenza A commonly referred to as swine flu, had been the dominant form of the virus on campus.

H1N1 and seasonal flu are clinically no different, Hanson said, with both viruses causing the infected person to have the same symptoms. Most people infected with the flu, including H1N1, recover within a few days.

Monday's ILIs push the number of total cases of flu-like illnesses seen by Student Health over 80. Hanson advises using caution when using numbers to quantify the spread of the virus, as it may be unrepresentative of what's happening in the community. Many infectious diseases meet the criteria of an ILI, she noted, including bad colds or undiagnosed cases of mono or strep, and with the seasonal flu season underway as well, the ILI number can be inaccurate for depicting the number of H1N1 cases on campus.

"Only time will tell if this will spike and settle down quickly or whether flu season will continue at moderate levels through the whole fall and winter," Hanson wrote in an e-mail. She added that Student Health was less busy on Tuesday.

Mississippi State, a campus where H1N1 broke out early, was up to 364 probable cases of H1N1 as of Tuesday, its flu watch Web site reported. CNN wrote Monday night that University of Kansas officials were estimating that about 340 students have a suspected case of H1N1. 

Students at Vanderbilt who have flu-like symptoms and a fever are advised to call the Student Health Center to make an appointment, or, if needed, to walk in and be treated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ask that people with a flu-like illness stay home for at least 24 hours after their fever has gone to help limit the spread of the virus to others.