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MONITOR YOUR HEALTH

Fever, chills, headache, and nausea are a few of the symptoms of garden-variety illnesses such as flu. On the other hand, they could also signal something far more ominous. An early sign of cutaneous anthrax (the form of the disease contracted when the microbe enters through a cut or other break in the skin) is a reddish-brown sore that scabs over. "If you have unusual symptoms, this is one of the times to go and check yourself out," urges Akhter of the American Public Health Association. Early detection almost always guarantees that treatment will be successful, even for virulent forms of a disease such as anthrax.

GETTING A FLU SHOT THIS YEAR

Even if you hate needles and almost never come down with the flu, this is the year to go for a shot, says Akhter, a physician and executive director of the American Public Health Association. Anthrax and many of the other diseases that bioterrorists might favor start with subtle, flulike symptoms, which makes diagnosis especially difficult during the flu season. If you feel achy and flu-ish even though you had a flu shot, a savvy physician might order a culture to test for other causes.

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