INFLUENZA

Contrary to colloquial usage, the term "Influenza" or "The Flu" does not refer to every illness resulting in coughing, sneezing, vomiting or fever. Rather, "Flu" is an illness caused by a very specific family of RNA viruses called Orthomyxoviridae, which mutate on a, typically, yearly cycle to frustrate our bodies attempts at immunity. It is the ubiquity and prevalence of Influenza in all cultures and demographics that has caused us to generalize many unrelated illnesses under the heading of "Flu."

Influenza kill hundreds of thousands of people each year, typically the very old and the very young, as it makes it's annual sweep across the globe. In an average year, 200,000 Americans are hospitalized because of Influenza.

Every year, the flu virus returns to its animal reservoirs (primarily pigs and birds) and undergoes various mutations. These mutations generate a unique yearly Influenza strain. Strains vary in lethality, contagion and severity from year to year. Scientists are constantly monitoring emerging strains in an effort to develop each year's vaccine. However, they are never 100% certain which strain will emerge.

When a person receives their yealry Flu shot, they are taking a gamble. It is possible that the devised vaccine will prevent the strain of Flu that comes around, but it is also possible that a different strain of Flu will unexpectedly emerge which is not affected by the vaccine leaving people unknowingly unprotected from infection.

The major symptomatic differences between cold and flu are as follows:

Flu vs. Colds: A Guide to Symptoms
Questions	Flu	Cold
Was your onset of illness …	sudden?	slow?
Do you have a …	high fever?	no (or mild) fever?
Is your exhaustion level …	severe?	mild?
Is your head …	achy?	headache-free?
Is your appetite …	decreased?	normal?
Are your muscles …	achy?	fine?
Do you have …	chills?	no chills?

Influenza is so common that we often forget about the huge toll it takes each year in human life and health care resources. It has historically proven to be one of the worst scourges of human kind. With that in mind I rate this sick

a 2 on my "lethality scale" (1-10)
and a 2 on my "disturbing scale" (1-10)