Co-workers sniffling? Spouse running a fever?

It may seem like everyone you know is sick these days.

And state Department of Health statistics show that there are more cases of flu-like illnesses being reported this spring than there were at this time last year.

But there’s a catch: Last year was the unusual one because 2009-10 was when the H1N1 flu strain, known as swine flu, struck the area.

“This year was regarded as a light flu season,” Oneida County Health Department spokesman Ken Fanelli said. “It was 2009 that was the anomaly.”

The first swine flu cases appeared in Oneida County two years ago, in April of 2009. Though the disease was not as serious as initially feared, there was a strong spike in cases in October of that year, county statistics show.

But by February and March of 2010, when flu season normally peaks here, there were very few cases of seasonal flu, the statistics show.

This year’s flu season has followed a more normal trend, with cases continuing – but gradually trailing off – in April after a modest spike in February and March, Fanelli said.

“We definitely didn’t have as bad a flu season as last year,” said Anna Giammico, the emergency room nurse manager at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Utica. “We saw a little spike in March, but it’s definitely on the downswing now.”

Still, New York was one of only three states still reporting “widespread influenza activity” as of April 2, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And the Central New York region had the most lingering cases at that time, according to the state Health Department report.

And local residents may be fighting the sniffles longer than others.

Officials from Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare agreed this wasn’t a bad flu season, but also said they said they have seen more people coming to the emergency room with untreated cold and flu symptoms recently.

State Health Department spokesman Tom Allocco said flu season hit upstate later than it hit the New York City area this year.

He characterized the number of flu cases reported this year as “a moderate season” overall.

“This year is much closer to what you would call a normal year,” Allocco said.

Preventive measures also likely helped keep the virus in check: The 2010-11 flu vaccine was a good match to the strains that were circulating, and could have contributed to the moderate season, he said.

MONTHLY FLU CASES REPORTED IN ONEIDA COUNTY

*The 2009-2010 flu season featured the H1N1 or Swine Flu strain, which peaked in October, with 513 cases tracked by the county that month.

Source: Oneida County Public Health Department