[oramar]

They were doing story on the news about the Pope having the flu and being so very ill. (God bless him I like the man). Just off handedly they mentioned there is a large flu outbreak in Europe. I was suprised because we are having a mild flu year in USA. Anyone else hear about a flu outbreak in Europe? Could not help but wonder if the Pope had a flu shot.

[dharma]

Yes, it has been a nasty flu season here in Germany. For a while there (about three months) we couldn't get rid of it here. We are military stationed in the south of Germany - not too far from Italy, actually. Because of the vaccine shortage, nobody in our household except my husband even qualified to receive a flu shot, and he didn't even get it because they ran out too fast. He got it first, and then the kids, I was the last (and that's how it usually goes in this house). We were miserable for a couple of weeks, and then he finally started getting better, the kids started getting better..and WHAM..another round. It went on like that for three solid months. There was some rumor about closing the schools for a week or so to try to get some of the kids better (grr..don't get me to ranting about parents who take their kids to school sick!)
Problem here is we live in a really closed little community. All the kids go to the same schools, we live in the same neighborhoods, everyone works in the same buildings, we even shop at the same two stores. You can't leave your house without running into the same people again and again. So, once a contagious disease gets it foot in, you are guaranteed to be exposed to it somehow.
While we were all sick, so was everyone else we knew. It was terrible. We all seem to be past it now, though.

[oramar]

Yes, it finally caught up with us here in Pa. The outbreak did not start till Feb. My husband and I were very ill, he went into pneumonia as did many others. Now here at end of March it is finally waning.

[akor]

Originally Posted by oramar

Yes, it finally caught up with us here in Pa. The outbreak did not start till Feb. My husband and I were very ill, he went into pneumonia as did many others. Now here at end of March it is finally waning.

Yes, the flu was bad in February here in Italy. Our kids got sick and because it was the flu no doctor likes to prescibe antibiotics so I let it ride giving them over the counter medicines to make the mucous more fluid....Two weeks passed and they still had terrible coughs. Went to the doctor again and this time with antibiotics, they were much better after two days.....I had a sore throat for two weeks.....I had to nearly twist the doctor's arm to prescribe antibiotics....I understand the danger in over prescibing antibiotics but if it helps me get better quicker (which it did)....then give them to me.....anyway, the same situation with the schools here in Florence, Italy.....kids were out of class for a couple of weeks.....one day the teachers just took the small amount of children to the park to play because there weren't enough kids to go on with the lessons.