If you are worried about catching ’flu, you are right to be cautious but the common cold could be the problem in the Canary Islands over the next few months

Health experts say the incidence of ’flu in the archipelago is significantly down on this time last year because we have experienced a mild winter and many people have had the ’flu jab.

The good news is that you are less likely to be struck down by the virus which affected thousands of people last winter. The bad news is that the common cold lives on and the warmer winter will still be generating germs!

Health chiefs say the flu this winter has very similar characteristics to the strain which caused havoc a year ago. Fortunately, many people have had the jab, either this year or last and the immunisation lasts up to a year.

The Public Health department says that in the second month of January, the number of reported cases went down from 67 patients per thousand islanders to 59. It is stressed, however, that the disease is at its most virulent between late January and mid-February so the vaccination period has been extended to the end of March.

Doctors say that quite a lot of people who had the jab say they still suffered’ flu this year but have dismissed this claim. They say it is virtually impossible to contract it if you have been immunised. It is possible that the person who received the jab might have been carrying the germ already and also the vaccine takes two weeks to work, so the patient might get the flu in between. This confusion is apparently very common, they say, leading to stories that the vaccine is ineffective. They also stress that the jab only works against the’ flu,  not other similar ailments.

There is a possibility that if it is very similar to a previous bout, antibodies in some-one’s blood might become immune.

Doctors think there will be more cases of the common cold this winter as the virus needs warm temperatures to incubate. 

Certain groups of people are being urge to get the  vaccine, including the elderly and those who suffer from heart disease, diabetes, asthma and those who work in the professional sector such as ambulance staff, police and the fire brigade. ‘Flu can lead to serious complications.