By Neil Offen

noffen@heraldsun.com; 419-6646

DURHAM -- Around 50 Duke University students a week have been suffering from the flu or flulike symptoms, the university says.

That makes Duke just about normal.

Ninety-eight percent of the 265 colleges and universities nationwide that are being tracked by the American College Health Association reported new cases last week of H1N1 or similar flulike illnesses.

The week before, the percentage was 97 percent.

"We're no better nor worse than anywhere else," said Chris Heltne, director of communications at Student Affairs, which oversees the Duke Health Service. "Just about all of our peer institutions are where we are with the flu. Everybody has it."

The university has had about 50 or so students with the illness every week since the beginning of classes in August, with some minor fluctuations.

The total is an estimate, since Duke bases it not just on the number of students treated by student health, but also on reports from professors who've heard from their students who may have had to miss classes and on how many students have accessed the university's food delivery system. That system brings meals to students who remain in their dorms while recovering from the flu -- a strategy the university recommends.

None of the flu cases at Duke so far has been serious, said Heltne.

The university has inoculated several thousand students against seasonal flu, including more than 1,000 in a free clinic several weeks ago. But Duke has only been able to vaccinate a much smaller number against the H1N1 virus. Following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control, the university has offered the vaccine only to pregnant students and Duke Hospital patients, along with staff involved in patient care.

"Like many other places, we're still waiting to get more doses," Heltne said.

N.C. Central University reported earlier this semester that it, too, had a moderate number of flu cases, and none of them has been serious.