Bug season

I've been seeing various reports on the Book of Face about people down with the crud. BRM and Wing are both down with something.

My partner at work was out all last week and is expecting to be out all this week with what I'm presuming is the flu.

One of the forums I frequent had this post (paraphrased):

Last week was our anniversary. Wife wasn't feeling great, so I took the kids out so she could have some quiet time.
Next afternoon she was complaining of chest pain and difficulty breathing, so I took her to the ER.
She was dead the next afternoon. Flu plus staph.

Let me re-emphasize that:
 She was dead the next afternoon.

A husband is without his wife, children are without their mother, because of flu.

Last week we had a working-age adult patient who complained of "flu symptoms" for a few days and was found unresponsive/pulseless. That family is now doing funeral planning.

In 1918, the "Spanish" flu had an estimated 10-20% mortality rate. With modern medicine, we've cut mortality rates dramatically, but influenza is still killing otherwise healthy adults.

I missed my flu shot this year, and I'm really regretting it. I've been healthy so far (knock on wood), and I hope it continues. I really hope my partner was smart enough to call in early enough to keep me healthy.

If you share a work space, wash your hands regularly and use antiseptic wipes regularly. (I wipe down my entire console at the beginning of every shift and sometimes mid-shift.) If you're coming down with something, stay home.

Take care of yourselves. Rest, fluids, etc.