As soon as the feeling of autumn is in the air, the leaves start to turn color and people move indoors, the influenza season will be on its way. Although the flu can hit individuals of all ages throughout the world anytime, the highest number of cases occurs between November and March. In 2001-2002, for example, the influenza season in the U.S. peaked in mid-to-late February, when 40 states reported regional or widespread flu activity to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.1
             Although in temperate climates influenza generally affects people in the colder months, it can occur all year round in tropical climates. A
             possible explanation for the high level of activity during winter is that
             the congregation of people indoors facilitates the transmission of the
             virus and viruses survive longer due to the dry indoor air.2
             Influenza results from a virus that infects the upper respiratory
             tract, or the nose and throat. The viruses are divided into three major
             types, A, B and C, and alter from year to year because of changes in the
             antigens. This is also called antigenic shift in Type A flu and antigenic
             drift in Type A or B. Since the flu is so changeable, different vaccines
             are required for each form of the disease and every season. The greatest
             public health concern lies in the fact that Type A can shift suddenly and
             considerably, either through mutation or the exchange of influenza genes.3
             The result is the sudden appearance of a new virus strain to which
             populations may have no immunity and no vaccine can offer protection.
             Viruses are known to infect animals, birds and humans. Scientists
             have also seen viruses switch in animals from being a diarrheal disease to
             a respiratory one as it evolves in the body. Viruses can spread from
             How fast the virus proliferates and how great its negative impact
             significantly depends on a number of factors. In the United States and
             ...