There’s this celebrated story of a patient, with flu, who went to his physician with the illness. The latter quickly scribbled a prescription in his customary difficult-to-decrypt handwriting. The patient put it in his pocket, but forgot to go the chemist.
Each morning, for two years, he displayed it to the conductor as a train season pass. It got him twice into the movies, once into the soccer ground and also a concert. It gave him a raise at work — as a ‘note of recommendation’ from his boss. One day, he unwittingly misplaced it. His daughter picked it up, ‘played’ it on the piano, and won a scholarship to pursue lessons at a music school.
Witticisms apart, influenza, or flu, a contagious infection, is more than something we all dread. This is primarily because most viral illnesses, such as flu, not only involve the respiratory tract — they are also the most common illnesses we encounter in life.
While it has been a practice to relate to viral disorders, according to the anatomical region affected — or, seasons — based on the given virus’ affinity — there are no fixed rules for a virus to affect a particular region. A virus may sometimes produce symptomatic infection at a different site — a location which may not be its favourite ‘abode.’
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