Flu a surprise major killer in Singapore

The Straits Times pg1, wed 10th may 2006


A new government study has identified influenza to be the major killer in Singapore with almost 600 people dying from the disease each year. I am sad and shocked to hear of this as i have always considered the flu to be a minor illness and do not think much of it. The flu can be treated and there are vaccines to prevent us from catching the flu, therefore i feel that influenza itself is not deadly but it makes us more susceptible to other more serious infections and illnesses which might be fatal. Many people do not go for occasional health check ups and thus do not get vaccinated, therefore many easily catch the flu which results in the high number of deaths caused by influenza. I believe that these deaths could have been prevented if the people went for their regular check ups and made it a point to get vaccinated to make themselves more immune to such viruses. If people had more initiative and bothered in caring for their health there would not be so many people catching the flu in the first place. All one needs to do to remain healthy and illness free is simply to go and get vaccinated each year and maintain a healthy lifestyle and diet. That should not be too hard a thing to do in exchange for a long, healthy and happy life, but still many people take their health for granted. Many young people nowadays eat all kinds of junk food and do vigorous exercises even when they are sick, by doing so they are actually doing much more harm to their bodies, they should be staying at home to recuperate instead. There have been cases where people have died from over exerting themselves while having the flu. Therefore the next time we are down with the flu, we should not take it lightly and stay home and rest so that we can get better sooner.