DailyDirt: The Flu Season Is Here...

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

This year's flu season seems to be unusually miserable and widespread. One of the flu strains getting passed around this year hasn't been seen for a few years, so people's immune system resistance to it may be weak. If you haven't caught the bug yet, here are just a few links that could help you avoid it -- or just tell you more about what the flu actually is.

• The Khan academy has a lesson on what the flu is, making sure everyone knows the difference between the flu and a cold. It'd be cool to see online classes for all kinds of medical information -- and maybe even medical degree badges....? [url]
• The 2013 flu vaccine wards against three strains: H3N2, H1N1 and Influenza B. However, the vaccine this year has been labeled only "moderately effective" by the CDC. [url]
• Flu season comes around during the winter generally and not spring, summer or fall. But why? It could be the humidity; the flu virus survives well in warm, low-humidity air -- just like the conditions in most homes in the winter. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

Filed Under: flu, flu season, health, humidity, khan academy, sickness, vaccine, virus
Companies: cdc