If you're fretting about the coronavirus, don't forget about the flu.
Influenza has already taken the lives of 10,000 Americans this season, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At least 19 million have caught the flu, and an estimated 180,000 became so ill they landed in the hospital.
It's easy to forget the clear and present danger posed by influenza because it's always there, sickening millions and killing thousands every year during flu season, said Dr. Bernard Camins, medical director for infection prevention at the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City. And it's even worse when a new type of flu virus emerges, mutated into a form against which humans have limited immunity, Camins added.
On the other hand, there are a multitude of different coronaviruses but less than a handful have proven deadly, Taege noted. By comparison, flu viruses travel through the air in droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes, talks or even breathes. You can catch the flu by inhaling it in the air or by touching a surface upon which the virus has landed and then touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
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