Unalaska, AK – A minor influenza outbreak is underway in Unalaska, and the Iliuliuk Health Clinic is advising people to take extra precautions to stay healthy.

Clinic Administrator Sonia Handforth-Kome said she has received six confirmed cases of the flu so far, three of them today. This particular strain is characterized by body temperatures over 101.5 degrees, sore throat and the usual array of headaches and body aches.

Handforth-Kome said that while the cases are cause for concern, they don't point towards the kind of severe flu that killed four people in Unalaska in 2005.

"People have gotten sick, but they get better," she said. "They're not getting sick and scaring us, because we're afraid we might lose them."

The strain has been identified as Type A influenza, which is covered by the flu shots given out by the clinic earlier this winter. Handforth-Kome said if you haven't had the shot, you can take basic precautions to keep from getting sick, like making sure to wash your hands regularly, especially before contact with your mouth or face.

If you do think you have the flu, you can get tested for it at the clinic. But Handforth-Kome said you don't really need to seek treatment there unless:

-Your temperature tops 102.5 degrees

-You stay sick for several days

-You have chronic medical conditions, which can be complicated by the flu.

For severe cases, the clinic does have a limited supply of the drug Tamaflu. But Handforth-Kome said it's important not to confuse the flu with all of the other winter bugs that are going around.

"We're seeing a lot of people sick with this upper-respiratory condition and a fever, but only six actually tested as positive for the flu," she said. "[So we're not] going to hand out all of our Tamaflu supplies to people who don't actually have the flu, because it is expensive, and in short supply."

In less severe cases, she said, you should just stay home and drink plenty of fluids, and cover your mouth with a mask to keep from infecting other people if you do go out of the house.