As winter approaches in the UK and British Summer Time has gone coughs, colds and flu are hitting the headlines again.
Today's news is that a cure for the common cold could be in sight, because research in Cambridge shows that antibodies can work once viruses enter cells. Problems are: up to 200 cold viruses exist with different antigenic types, and it will be years before new drugs might be available to kill viruses once they infect cells.
Research from USA shows people who are fit and active get fewer, less severe, colds because regular exercise boosts the immune system. still a problem with the number of different cold viruses around. But being active and feeling fit has other advantages.
Only 1/5 health workers are said to have had this year's flu jab. This doesn't set a good example, encouraging spread of infection around hospitals / surgeries, and days off sick.
WHO(World Health Organization) declared the Swine Flu pandemic over in August 2010.But the H1N1 Swine flu virus is still circulating globally, and although there were far fewer deaths than expected, it still killed 70 children (mostly ethnic minorities and/or previously unwell) in England. It's included in this year's flu jab.