Flu (Influenza) Facts
While a cold and the flu cause many of the same symptoms, a cold is generally milder and does not produce the fevers, chills, headaches or extreme exhaustion characteristic of the influenza virus. New strains of the flu virus cause epidemics almost every winter, causing illness in 10 to 20% of Americans and an average of 36,000 deaths and 114,000 hospitalizations each year. Because schools are excellent breeding grounds for the flu virus, children are two to three times more likely than adults to become sick with the flu. While most people who get influenza recover in one to two weeks, many are at high risk of developing flu complications.These include people over age 65, women who are pregnant, small children between 6 and 23 months, and people of any age who have a chronic medical condition.
