A sneeze can be as deadly as a bullet

SAN DIEGO - Dec. 27, 2015 - PRLog -- A sneeze can be as deadly as a bullet. Every year, the flu kills thousands of people. For most of us, the flu is just an uncomfortable disruption of our daily lives. For some though, that same flu can be a fatal intrusion. The disease threatens the very young, the old and the infirmed. For them, the flu is deadly serious.

Flu deaths can be reduced. The fewer people who get the flu: the fewer people die of it. Avoid the flu for yourself and your community. Hand washing is the first line of defense. Coughs and sneezes spray germs all over everything. They lurk there waiting for a hand to carry them off. That hand soon puts them in contact with a mouth or a nose. They have found a host. Cut flu germs off at the pass: wash your hands frequently. Anti-microbial wipes may be even better.

Avoid touching your hands and other germ-laden things to your face. One of the dirtiest things you own is your cell phone. It picks up germs from your hand, from your pocket, from your breath, and from wherever you’ve taken it. The next time it rings, you will pick it up and stuff it in your face—germs and all. Hello, Mr. Flu Bug! What’s the alternative? Cell phones aren’t dishwasher-safe yet. Cleaning them is the express route to voiding their warrantees. Clean hands are still your first line of defense.

Immunity is the next line of defense. It corrals the germs that sanitation misses. The success of a germ’s spread depends on the hospitality of its host population. If germs encounter a lot of naïve or weak immune systems, infection is easy. Disease increases geometrically: 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, … Epidemic results.  If the germs find few susceptible immune systems, infection decreases geometrically: 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, … Herd immunity results.

When most of a community is immune to a disease, that disease fades away. After a disease has run its course, most of the community has acquired immunity through infection. Vaccination can induce the needed immunity without the mortality and morbidity of the disease. Either way, without new victims, the disease withers and dies on the vine. That’s herd immunity.

Herd immunity is a community responsibility. It’s your responsibility and mine. Get a flu shot and protect the young, the old, the ill and the rest of us from your contagion. As a bonus for your community service, your flu will be less severe if you get it at all.

Isolating the flu is the next best thing to immunization. If you do contract the flu, stay home. Don’t go out and share it with friends at school or work. Above all, stay away from babies and their grandparents. Don’t drop by to cheer up a sick friend either. Let’s fight this flu season together.

Woodrow Wilson is the author of “The Utah Flu’” a fictionalized account of civilian and military medical response to impending epidemic. Visit him at Woodrow-wilson.com He’s had his flu shot. Have you?