Flu season generally lasts from October to May, and guess what month we’re in?

Around these months, the weather starts to cool, people increasingly start to gather indoors, and immune functions start to reduce. These factors lead to a breeding ground for the flu to start spreading rapidly. Symptoms of the flu usually take one to four days to pop up and last about a week.

Influenza viruses spread all year round, but they tend to peak between December and February. There are four main types: Influenza A virus (most common type and infects a wide range of animals, like humans and pigs), Influenza B virus (primarily found in humans and can cause severe illness), Influenza C virus (a milder form of the flu that typically only affects children), and Influenza D virus (found in animals, such as pigs and cattle, and does not usually cause illness in humans). 

February tends to peak as the height of flu season, followed by December, January, and March. Young children, pregnant women, older adults, and people with chronic conditions are the most at risk for the flu.

Common symptoms of the flu include, but are not limited to: a sudden onset of fever, coughing (usually dry), headaches, muscle and joint pain, severe malaise (feeling unwell), sore throat, and runny nose. Serious cases can lead to pneumonia, sepsis, hospitalization, and death. Usually, this only affects people at high risk.

Get ready to get sick, tigers!