Facts about the Flu You May Not Know

How well do you know your flu facts? Seasonal influenza rolls around every year, but with COVID lingering and RSV a threat, the annual event feels different. That is why understanding flu and how to prevent it is more important than ever.

Arm yourself with these flu facts for a healthier, better protected flu season.

Flu Fact #1: Flu Viruses Spreads Easily

It is surprisingly easy to get the flu. The airborne virus spreads through tiny droplets expelled when infected people cough, sneeze, talk, or even just breathe in and out. This aerosol of infected droplets can survive for hours suspended in the air. Once airborne, it doesn’t take much for droplets to land in someone’s mouth, nose, or eyes and cause infection.

But the risk of transmission doesn’t stop there. After a while the droplets settle out of the air and land on surfaces. Flu viruses can live on non-porous surfaces for 24 to 48 hours, infecting people who touch that surface and then touch their own mouth, nose, or eye. “It’s actually pretty likely you’d get sick from touching an infected handrail or countertop,” says Alison Carey, MD, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Drexel University, in Health.com.

It’s no wonder that between five to 20 percent of people in the Unites States come down with the flu each year.

Flu Fact #2: The Flu Comes with Costs

Illness from flu comes at a cost. Several costs, actually. The dearest price is paid in human life. The World Health Organization estimates that annual flu epidemics result in about 3 to 5 million cases of severe illness, and about 290,000 to 650,000 respiratory deaths. In the U.S. the 2019-2020 flu season claimed about 20,000 lives.

While most people don’t die from flu, a bout with the disease remains quite debilitating. As Dr. Max Pemberton describes it in Reader’s Digest, “I was uncontrollably hot yet my whole body shook. My head pounded constantly, and my skin could hardly bear to have the sheets cover me as it was so sensitive. I drifted in and out of sleep, my whole body in pain. I had no appetite at all. All this went on for about a week, and I didn’t feel fully recovered for a further week.”

This drag on human health translates into direct economic burden. The flu fact numbers include:

• $10.4 billion a year in direct medical expenses
• $15.3 billion a year in lost earnings
• 17 million lost workdays
• $7 billion in sick days and productivity loss per year

Flu Fact #3: Prevention Methods that Work

Influenza is destructive and costly, but the last flu fact will give you hope. There are proven ways to prevent or minimize the disease. The best way to protect yourself is by getting an annual flu vaccine. The CDC recommends everyone over the age of six months (with rare exceptions) get the jab.

Convincing people to accept the shot may be more difficult than before. Years of messaging around COVID-19 vaccines and boosters has created vaccine fatigue, a phenomenon where people are burnt out on the therapy. Still, flu shots reduce the risk of flu-related illness by between 40% and 60% when the vaccine is well matched to the virus.

Washing hands and not touching your face is another good way to protect against flu and a host of other illnesses. Twenty seconds of hot water, soap, and vigorous scrubbing will do it. Alcohol-based hand sanitizer, with at least 60% alcohol, works too.

Cleaning is another good way to prevent illness. Flu can be deadly, but the actual virus is wimpy. Standard cleaning is enough to kill it, but disinfection doesn’t hurt either. Use the right tools, like microfiber towels, and pay special attention to touchpoints.

Consider using a No-Touch Cleaning® system for nightly maintenance on the rest of the space. This tool completely removes soils and pathogens like flu virus from surfaces.

Click here to learn more flu facts and other ways to prevent illness.