Editorial: Bugged by nasty viruses

The bug going around at the moment is awful.

"There's a nasty bug going around."

A more hackneyed statement you'll struggle to find.

Truth is, bugs never leave.

Colleagues and friends have fallen like flies in the past fortnight, as have my kids. It's cost them about a week off school, us countless hours of sleep, scores of lemon drinks, tissue packs, cough syrup and a symptomatic bout of cabin fever.

So much for our species' supposed position atop the food chain. The diminutive Mr Virus and Mr Bacteria, noble agents of the yuck family, are the true kingpins on this planet.

Nursing a sick daughter following a fevered day at the office due to staff absences, it got me wondering how much these microbes tax the national industry each year - excepting the pharmaceutical and health sectors, of course.

Yet, as insidious as the pathological warfare is, I find myself full of admiration, particularly for Mr Virus.

First they find a comfortable host. Said host's subsequent congestion forces the respiratory response to cough or sneeze - a dynamic mechanism launching the little fellas off for the best chance of landing a new host. Genius.

Add to that its high mutation rate. Well versed in Sun Tzu's Art of War, it returns to the same host, dressed as a stranger.

On the up, I see online that alcohol is an effective sanitiser. Sadly, on further investigation, I discovered this actually means the external application of alcohol.

I've managed, touch wood (after sanitising), to stay flu-free this year. From a microbe's perspective I'm obviously a bad host. Here's to staying inhospitable for winter's entirety.