Chills...body aches...headaches...fever... that overall blah feeling that comes with having the flu. The flu season is upon us again, typically beginning late October/early November and often lasting until May.
Health experts are predicting a tough 2017-18 flu season across the U.S., based on flu statistics from the southern hemisphere – which experiences the flu season first – including more than two and a half times more Australian flu cases reported this year compared with the same period last year (168,337 influenza cases so far in 2017, compared to just under 91,000 for all of 2016).
What can we do to prevent contracting the cold and flu virus? From airplane seat trays to doorknobs to dollar bills, germs are everywhere. In fact, about 30% of people have the cold virus on their hands at any given moment. Unfortunately, only 39% of U.S. consumers use hand sanitizers, and, given the frequency with which we touch our face with our hands – particularly our noses, mouths and eyes – keeping hands germ-free is the key to protecting ourselves and loved ones.
Dr. Charles Gerba, Professor of Microbiology and Environmental Sciences, has some helpful tips and advice for combating cold and flu germs.
About Dr. Gerba
Charles Gerba, Ph.D., is a Professor of Microbiology and Environmental Sciences at the University of Arizona’s Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department. He served on the Food Advisory Board of the U. S. Food and Drug Administration for four years and has served on the Science Advisory Board of the United States Environmental Protection Agency for nine years. Dr. Gerba has been an author on more than 500 articles, including several books in environmental microbiology, risk assessment and pollution science. He is regularly featured in The New York Times, Forbes, NBC’s TODAY, Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan and HuffPost.
Courtesy: Zoono
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