Flu or influenza is a highly contagious viral infection that affects the respiratory tract.
 
Compared to common colds, flu can cause severe illnesses and can lead to serious complications in all age groups.

With other viral infections the symptoms usually are mild and most people can continue working or going to school while ill, but with flu, the symptoms are severe and prolonged and can cause the individual to miss days of work or school. The infection stresses the body.
 
Flu may cause high fever, cough, sore throat, a runny nose, headache, more malaise, and severe body aches. Some people describe the flu as being like the worst cold of their life. Most people feel better after 1 or 2 weeks. But for some people, the flu leads to serious, even life-threatening diseases, such as pneumonia.
 
Because of its infectiousness, severity of symptoms, time lost from work or school, and the potential to lead to serious complications, and consequently business interruptions, it is important to prevent flu.

The influenza virus is typically spread from person to person when an infected person coughs or sneezes the virus into the air.
 
It is contagious for one or two days before symptoms develop that is why it is almost impossible to stop it from spreading.

Yes. The best way to avoid getting the flu is to get the flu vaccine each year before the flu season.
 
The vaccine is generally effective against the flu virus within 2 weeks of the injection.
 
The vaccines work by exposing your immune system to the flu virus. Your body will build up anti bodies to the virus to protect you from getting the flu.
 
The flu vaccine is 70 to 90% effective in preventing the flu in healthy people. Some people who get the vaccine will still get the flu, but they will usually get a milder case than people who were not vaccinated.
 
Maintaing a healthy lifestyle with proper diet and exercise could reduce the impact of flu.

Each year the influenza virus can change slightly, making the vaccine used in previous year ineffective.
 
A worldwide flu surveillance has been established by the World Health Organization (WHO) to detect and select the most likely strains to circulate in the forthcoming flu season. These selected strains are used to develop the new vaccine formula.
 
The flu vaccine contains three different strains of the virus, which the scientists believe are most likely to show up.

In general, anyone who wants to reduce his or her chances of getting the flu can get vaccinated.
 
Anyone can catch it. Being fit and healthy does not guarantee that you won't catch the disease. Every year especially during the rainy and cold season, a lot of people would have flu.
 
However, it is highly recommended for people who are at high risk of having serious flu complications or people who live with or care for those at high risk for serious complications.

Yes. The following people should talk to their doctor before getting the flu shot:

• People who have had an allergic reaction to a flu shot in the past
• People with an allergy to eggs
• People who have previously developed Guillain-Barre Syndrome (a reversible reaction that causes partial or complete loss of movement of muscle, weakness or tingling sensation in the body) within 6 weeks of getting the flu shot.
• People who have a moderate or severe fever should wait to get vaccinated until their symptoms lessen.

Yes. The flu vaccine is safe. Almost all people who receive flu vaccine have no serious problems from it.