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As head of Quality Assurance here at TrustMe, it is critically important that I oversee all QA initiatives so that we, as a team of respected IT Security professionals, deliver a product of the utmost quality to our most valued customers. However, the IT gods must be crazy, for they have given me insight into a bug… of a different sort. Not once, nay twice; three times, in eight weeks have I done battle with this wily bug. I’m sure all of you have had a battle or two this year alone with this bug that wreaks havoc and affects daily life, making mundane tasks painful and exhausting. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I’m talking about the flu bug.

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) reports that Influenza is a severe respiratory illness. It typically starts with a headache, chills and cough, followed by a fever, loss of appetite, muscle aches and fatigue, runny nose, sneezing, watery eyes and throat irritation. Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea may also occur, especially in children, click here for more information. Transmission spreads through droplets of infection that have been coughed or sneezed into the air, and can also be spread from coming into contact with an infected person and touching one’s eyes, nose, or mouth. The highest level of flu activity is found in the northern hemisphere, and usually lasts from January to March, but lasting longer this year because of the flu bug’s late start.

The PHAC recommends the following to best avoid contracting the flu:

1. Get immunized. This is the most effective way to protect yourself from the flu. PHAC reports that with the right match, influenza vaccine can prevent illness in about 70 to 90 percent of healthy people, and prevents illness in about 30 to 60 percent of healthy people when it is not a good match. Each year a new vaccine is created based on what experts predict will be the circulating strain of influenza for the coming year.
2. Wash your hands often. By washing your hands with soap under running water, you will reduce your chance of getting infected. Alcohol-based hand gel can also be used if soap and water are not readily available – keep some with you in your pocket or purse.
3. Practice proper cough and sneeze etiquette by covering your mouth to reduce the spread of germs. Remember to clean your hands afterwards.

With a little common sense and proper flu-battle readiness, you can protect yourself from endearing two or three, or who knows how many influenzas during a single flu season. Case in point – every year for the past several years, I have received an annual flu shot. I maintain a healthy lifestyle, including exercise and diet and have not had so much as a head cold. However, this year, I missed the boat on flu shots and have paid the price with three strains of the flu.

When you think about what having the flu actually costs, it is quite significant. For example, let’s say you come down with the flu. You not only expose your co-workers and potentially their family members, but your own family members as well. It is not difficult to understand how rapidly the flu spreads at such an exponential rate from ground zero. Work places can become decimated, family lives can be overturned, and society in general generally becomes more crabby and irritable than normal.