Battling the flu
Flu season lasts 17 weeks and people who contracted flu this year say it’s been the worst ever. Terence Pillay chats to Dr Michael Mol who dispenses some useful advice to remaining flu free.
LISTEN: Dr Mol shares advice on how to avoid flu every flu season:
It’s been the worst flu season yet.
This is the feeling amongst most people who contracted flu this year. According to the South African National Travel Heath Network, or SANTHNet, the 2017 flu season has been plagued by influenza A, which is the H3N2 virus. However, there is sporadic circulation of A (H1N1)pdm09 and influenza B. To date, there is nothing unusual about the 2017 influenza season, they say. Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, previously known as “swine flu”, has been circulating as one of the influenza seasonal strains since 2010. This information was supplied to them by the Institute for Communicable Diseases.
The Department of Health say that while the flu strain this year did contain the H1N1 strain, or swine flu, it’s simply part of “flu season” and nothing to be alarmed about.
So wanting to get some clarity, I approached my old friend Dr Michael Mol, who happens to be something of an expert on the matter. As an Executive Producer and presenter, Michael melded his passion for medicine and media and created two new TV series, called 'Hello Doctor' and 'The Dr Mol Show', with a vision to educate, empower, and inspire South Africans to live their best lives, by being the healthiest they can be.
Are you concerned about the germs in the air at this time of the year?
You can email Terence Pillay at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter: @terencepillay1 and engage with him there. You can also go to www.hellodoctor.com if you need any medical advice from Dr Michael Mol. He’s always on hand to help.