With flu concerns focused mainly on the H1N1 virus, it is easy to forget that the traditional flu season is quickly approaching.

Young children 6 months to 19 years, pregnant women, people with chronic medical conditions and people 50 years of age or older are the high risk groups for the seasonal flu in Ohio, which lasts typically from November to mid-March.

People who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, and people who live with or care for those at high risk for complications from the flu are targeted groups.

This also includes health care workers, household contacts of persons at high risk for complications from the flu, and household contacts and caregivers of children less than 5 years of age.

The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) encourages these high risk groups to receive a seasonal flu vaccine, if available.

The availability of seasonal flu vaccine may be limited, and the ODH urges people to check with their providers to see if seasonal flu vaccine is available for them.

To search for a seasonal flu vaccine provider, visit the American Lung Association’s Flu Clinic Locator at www.flucliniclocator.org.

In addition to being vaccinated, Ohioans can help stop the spread of illness by washing hands thoroughly and often.

Covering mouths when sneezing or coughing and staying home from work or school if sick are other methods.

The flu and pneumonia, the most common complication associate with the flu, has caused more than 3,000 deaths annually in Ohio, ranking it among the top 10 causes of death in the state.

There have been approximately 36,000 deaths and 200,000 thousand hospitalizations each year nationally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For more information about seasonal flu visit www.odh.ohio.gov and search: Seasonal Flu.