BLOOMINGTON -- H1N1 -- the novel influenza strain -- is sickening people in Central Illinois but how many people is unknown.

Doctors and the McLean County Health Department are reporting an increase in numbers of people with flu-like illnesses. But because testing for H1N1 isn't required unless the patient is hospitalized or seriously ill, it's unknown how many of the people have the virus, said health department director Walt Howe and assistant administrator Cathy Coverston Anderson.

Knowing how many have H1N1 rather than a similar influenza strain doesn't really matter, doctors said. Both sets of patients are treated the same way.

Dr. Lamont Tyler, medical director of OSF PromptCare in Bloomington and Normal, figures that most of the patients with flu-like illness have H1N1 because seasonal flu doesn't start until later in the fall.

Dr. Allan Griffith, an urgent care physician in the emergency department at BroMenn Regional Medical Center and at Sugar Creek Medical Associates in Normal, said the numbers of H1N1 confirmed cases are "the tip of the iceberg." Griffith has tested several people for influenza A or B who have tested negative but he figures they had another influenza virus.

Most doctors use a rapid response test that tells whether a patient has influenza A or B. Because H1N1 -- formerly called swine flu -- is an A strain, many of the patients with influenza A may have H1N1.

A test to confirm H1N1 must be sent to a lab. Because that test is more expensive than the rapid test and because treatment won't change, many patients decide against having the confirmatory test.

Nonetheless, medical professionals are concerned about H1N1 because it's a new virus that has spread rapidly and generally affects healthy, young people.

Since May, four people in McLean County have been confirmed with H1N1. All have recovered, the health department said.

Concern is heightened in McLean County because of the number of people in congregate living environments. Illinois State University alone has 20,000 students.

ISU has had about 90 students with flu-like illnesses this semester, said Dr. Glenn Weiss, medical director of ISU's Student Health Service. While there have been no confirmed cases of H1N1, Weiss figures some of the 90 had H1N1.

Most schools in McLean County have had several students with flu-like illness but no hospitalizations have been reported to the health department, Howe said.

"We're seeing a lot of respiratory illnesses in the past two weeks," Tyler said. "We have diagnosed flu -- mostly in teens and young adults." Tyler figures most of them have H1N1.

Adults and children should reduce their risk of getting sick by washing their hands frequently and thoroughly, coughing and sneezing into their sleeves, and staying home and contacting their doctor when they're sick.

Everyone age 6 months and older should get a seasonal flu shot to reduce their risk of getting any of the three flu viruses expected to be prevalent later this fall and winter, medical professionals agreed. Check with your doctor to find out if he or she has seasonal flu vaccine.

A seasonal flu shot provides no protection against H1N1. When the H1N1 vaccine becomes available later this fall, the federal government will require that individuals at risk of complications from H1N1 be vaccinated before everyone else. The government hopes that later there will be enough H1N1 vaccine for everyone who wants it.

Reporters Phyllis Coulter and Michele Steinbacher contributed to this report.

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When to call

If you have a runny nose and a minor sore throat and cough, stay home, take an over-the-counter pain reliever, have some chicken soup, turn on a vaporizer and rest.

If you have a severe sore throat, or a fever with muscle aches, fatigue and have yellow or green sputum, call your doctor, who may test you for strep throat or influenza.

If you have influenza, a doctor will determine whether you qualify for medicine that may reduce the intensity or duration of your illness. You can't return to school or work until you are fever free (without the use of fever-reducing medicine) for at least 24 hours.

SOURCES: Dr. Allan Griffith, Dr. Lamont Tyler