Dubai; With the seasonal flu spreading rapidly and keeping people in with coughs, sore throats and chills, doctors are recommending flu shots, saying that it helps prevent infection.

Adults are advised a single dose, while children are recommended two doses of the flu vaccine. "It does not cost much, about Dh40," said Dr Lalit Uchil, specialist of internal medicine and medical director of Welcare Ambulatory Care Centre.

"The two extremes, the children and the elderly, are susceptible to seasonal flu," he said, adding that diabetics should take extra care.

Symptoms

The symptoms for H1N1 (A) and seasonal flu are the same: Fever, runny nose, sore throat, cough and abdominal pain.

Dr Abdul Mahmoud Ustadi, consultant for infectious diseases with the Dubai Health Authority, said the majority of cases at clinics and hospitals are ones who are down with seasonal flu. "Only about 22 per cent are swine flu cases," he said.

Common-sense precautions

The seasonal flu takes a week to run its course, he said, adding that people should take common-sense precautions, such as washing hands often, avoiding crowded places and disposing of used tissues quickly.

Dr Uchil believes the panic phase for swine flu has passed. "People had got the flu and not many people have died," he said.

The death toll worldwide is 5,000. He said seasonal flu (which runs from now to March) kills about 50,000 people in the United States alone. "That's about 1,000 [people a] week, or three plane loads," he said. The majority of deaths occur among the very elderly, aged 80 and over, he said, noting that fortunately the population here is young.

Swine flu on the other hand affects the young, from teenagers to adults up to 40 years. Dr Uchil said the flu drug, Tamiflu, is not an effective treatment for seasonal flu. "The virus seems a little more resistant," he said. Dr Ustadi believes the flu, while it mutates every year, is not as virulent.

The seasonal flu infection lasts about three days, and the doctors recommend that patients stay away from work so as not to infect others.