It's mid winter where I live (New Zealand) and I have had a bad dose of the flu for the past few days. Hopefully getting over it now. Just wondering why people get the flu in winter. Why doesn't the cold of winter kill off the flu bugs?
SezMe
post-pre-born
I think Soapy's right. We're more often stuck in close quarters with more people.
GodMark2
Master Poster
Well, to answer the second half of the question, flu 'bugs' are viruses. They don't care much about the weather, hot or cold.
To expand on what Sam said, flu viruses don't do very well outside of the human body, so they do care about how quickly they can move from human to another. When people are crowded indoors to stay warm, that journey is a lot easier than when everyone's outside. That's why winter flu's are more common.
It's also why winter flus tend to be more harsh. If a virus makes you too ill to move, then it needs other people to come near you to spread. In summer, the ill are indoors, and the healthy are outdoors, so a truly nasty flu infection just doesn't get to spread. But in winter, everyone stays nice and close, so the fact that the very ill victim can't move isn't as important.
To expand on what Sam said, flu viruses don't do very well outside of the human body, so they do care about how quickly they can move from human to another. When people are crowded indoors to stay warm, that journey is a lot easier than when everyone's outside. That's why winter flu's are more common.
It's also why winter flus tend to be more harsh. If a virus makes you too ill to move, then it needs other people to come near you to spread. In summer, the ill are indoors, and the healthy are outdoors, so a truly nasty flu infection just doesn't get to spread. But in winter, everyone stays nice and close, so the fact that the very ill victim can't move isn't as important.
The Atheist
The Grammar Tyrant
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2006
- Messages
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Keep that stuff in Chch mate!
Having a flu vaccination helps, too.
I will pass one more comment into the mix - viruses also have a much easier time of being spread nowadays - more travel, more people, closer interaction, and thousands of parents who send sick kids to school to infect all the others because both parents work and can't afford time off to look after their kids.
