Although the peak influenza season is just around the corner, nearly 60 percent of working parents in the nation still cannot distinguish a cold from the flu and 65 percent have suffered serious flu-related complications due to delays in seeking treatment, according to a survey published by the Taiwan Immunization Vision and Strategy yesterday.
The survey polled about 1,000 working parents of children under the age of 12 and found that while 90 percent of respondents acknowledge that influenza is a serious illness, 57 percent are unable to distinguish between the common cold and the flu.
More than 60 percent of those polled mistakenly believe that flu can be treated naturally through increased consumption of water, with 59 percent having spread flu to their children due to their reluctance to get vaccinated against it, the survey showed.
When asked which potential consequences of the flu they fear the most, 80.6 percent of respondents answered the possibility of passing it on to their children, followed by 76.7 percent who cited the development of potentially serious complications and 51.6 percent the effects of severe symptoms on their work performance.
Taiwan Immunization Vision and Strategy Secretary-General Lu Chun-yi (呂俊毅) said influenza is an acute infectious respiratory disease caused by two strains of influenza A (H3N2 and H1N1), and influenza B.
“Unlike the common cold, flu can cause infected individuals to suffer more abrupt and noticeable symptoms, such as headache, continuous fever, fatigue and muscle soreness in the limbs,” Lu said.
Lu said flu sufferers tend to deteriorate more quickly, take longer time to recover and are more likely to suffer serious complications than people who have colds, adding that an average of between 900 and 3,200 Taiwanese a year are killed by the flu and complications arising from it.
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