Did you know that according to the National Institutes of Health, 5 to 20 percent of you will get the flu, with about 200,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths annually in the U.S.? Influenza, or the “flu,” is the sixth-leading fatality in American adults. Serious stuff.
What is all the fuss about the flu?
Influenza is a viral respiratory infection often mistaken for other illnesses, such as a cold. Typically, the flu occurs in the colder months of the year and is easily spread among groups in hospitals, schools and nursing homes. Workplaces with cube farms are wonderful incubators for these viral infections.
Some flu trivia for you that could be helpful in close quarters. The influenza virus lives on hard, nonporous surfaces for up to 48 hours, so spraying antibacterial cleaners may be helpful. On tissues and other porous materials, the virus could remain viable for up to 12 hours. At human body temperatures, the life span of influenza is a week and can remain viable indefinitely at below freezing temperatures.
Though the common cold and flu have symptoms in common, such as a sore throat and a runny nose, colds typically develop slowly while the flu comes on suddenly enough that you feel bad immediately.
Complications from the influenza virus can affect anyone, but older adults, young children, pregnant women, those fighting chronic illnesses and those with compromised immune systems are especially vulnerable.
Rampant influenza can lead to bacterial infections such as bronchitis, ear and sinus infections, and, in rare cases, pneumonia.