Iller and Iller

Does it seem to you that there are a lot of bugs (as in flu and cold) going around this year? Almost everyone I know has spent some time being ill this season. Which raises the question of whether things are better or worse in that regard compared to, say, 30 years ago...

I don't think they are. The big killers, heart disease, cancer, may be in some decline, but the miserable making little thingamajiggers (sic?), falling under the general category of "infectious diseases" seem to be on a sharp rise.

As I'm writing this I'm realizing that it all may be very old news to y'all. AIDS, SARS, Avian Flu,we've been inundated... But I'm thinking of the more benign 24 hour to seven day affairs. They seem to be on the rise as well.

Which is to say that modern medicine has done wonders, but not on this front. Is it globalization? Frequent air travel? Too much antibiotics? I don't know...