I hope you're feeling better soon. I caught the 1968 flu and was too sick for a week to even get to a doctor. When I did, I asked how he was doing. "Lousy", he said, "my wife's had the flu for a month." I knew he wasn't going to be doing me much good.

Here's an interesting observation as to what made the 1918 flu so lethal - not the untreated flu, but that it made people suseptible to a streptococcal pneumonia. That form of pneumonia can be treated these days, so a flu epidemic these days wouldn't necessarily be as big a problem.

"The other danger is not reacting rapidly enough. In the case of influenza, medical steps can be taken. First, there are anti-viral medicines found to be effective against the new strain, and if sufficient stockpiles exist — which is hardly universally the case, especially in the developing world — and those stockpiles can be administered early enough, the course of the disease can be mitigated. Second, since most people die from secondary infection in the lungs, antibiotics can be administered. Unlike with the 1918 pandemic, the mortality rate can be dramatically reduced."

Rest easily.

Arf