In case of the common cold the main symptoms are runny nose, painful throat and headache. This disease may appear all year long. Influenza, better known as the flu, on the other hand only appears during times of an epidemic when the influenza viruses are circulating. In other words, usually there is no flu epidemic during the summer. In real influenza the disease sets in rather rapidly and severely and is accompanied by high fever which quite often does not react at all, or just poorly, to fever relief measures. Another strong indication is severe muscle pain. It is important to start treatment quickly because otherwise the flu viruses can invade the body much more easily, and vital time is lost fighting them.
Infectious diseases such as the flu are transmitted from person to person. Because of this risk of contagious infection the WHO (World Health Organization) recommends vaccination for everyone, in order to protect everyone and stop the disease from spreading. Vaccination is recommended especially in children, the elderly, pregnant women, and patients with an underlying disorder or at risk for complications. Since the influenza viruses are extremely agile in changing, each year other variants of the viruses are passing through, and therefore the vaccination should be repeated on an annual basis.
