Viruses are spreading around Athens Drive, infecting many students and teachers. The flu and other various diseases have been running their course this winter season and new strains have made it harder for people not to get infected.

In the 2016-2017 flu season, the virus has spread over 40 states and North Carolina is considered to be one that is extremely high in terms of flu activity according to the Center of Disease Control (CDC). The various flu symptoms include fever, chills, headache, body aches, fatigue and sore throat.

“Students need to be sure to wash their hands, don’t put hand in their mouth, don’t drink after people, and don’t shake another person’s hand during the flu season,” said Heather Hafer, science teacher.

The flu has claimed 37 lives in the United States since the beginning of the year. It mostly affects young children and the elderly. Teenages and middle-aged adults experience flu symptoms but it is very rare to be at risk of death at those ages due to the flu. Young people at school are most at risk for catching a virus due to being around so many other people. The virus can be caught by touching unwashed surfaces that someone who is infected could have touched, a sick person physically infecting somebody or eating something that is infected. Since not every single table in the school is washed every day, it is more likely for students to catch it rather than adults.

Students who catch the virus are likely to miss almost a week of school. Although it depends on which strain of the flu the student catches, the flu can take up to two weeks to be completely gone, with the worse symptoms only taking a couple days to go away.

“I caught the flu at the beginning of the semester and missed the entire second week of school,” said Eric Wagner, junior. “I had to catch up on so much school work.”

Wagner described how he was hardly able to leave the bed because of his symptoms being so bad. His whole body ached and he could not keep anything he ate down. Wagner took antibiotics until he felt well enough to come back to school.

The flu has had a major impact on student lives because of the school work they have to do. Since the flu can last weeks, a lot of school work and assessments may be missed by an infected student. This makes it hard for students to catch up on their work and complete any tests or quizzes that were given while they were gone. For seniors, it can mean missing exemptions and having to take exams they would have been excused for.

The flu has always been dominant in the early parts of the year and continues to be this year. Students can get flu shots and make sure to wash their hands to ensure they do not catch the flu or any flu related viruses that are going around.