Johannesburg - It may seem harmless enough - skipping a day or three of work to snuggle up at home nursing a cough and a sneeze.
But when it comes down to the rands and cents of it, colds and flu don’t come cheap for the South African economy.
Read: Learn how to tell a cold from flu
According to the Global Hygiene Council’s (GHC) recently released 2015 research on the socio-economic burdens of colds and flu, they cost the economy in excess of R2 billion annually.
The study surveyed 9 000 people from across 17 countries, including South Africa, and found that the average person misses 4.51 days of school or work due to an infection.
“The results show that the treatment of colds and flu could cost up to R4 023. And at just over 1 000 people surveyed in each country, the study is just a snapshot of what the situation really is,” Dr Kgosi Letlape, a member of the GHC and hand-washing and hygiene advocate, said yesterday.
According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, the flu viruses currently circulating are the H1N1, influenza A (H3N2) and influenza B viruses and they typically start circulating in the first week of June, although this can vary.
“Contrary to what most people believe, colds and flu are not caused by the weather. The main reason people get sick is because social distances become reduced. In summer there is no crowding and in winter we all huddle around each other or the heater, and if one of us in the group has a cold, it gets passed on by viruses which are spread predominately by airborne droplets produced when infected people cough, sneeze or talk,” said Letlape.
The survey also revealed that 43 percent of South Africans did not always wash their hands after sneezing or blowing their noses, and that 71 percent of the adults surveyed expected to pass on their colds or flu to others.
A further 91 percent of people had to take time off work or school because of an infection.
“We need to look into our cough etiquette, and instead of coughing into our hands where you will touch other surfaces, thus spreading the virus, cough into your sleeve or tissue, and wash your hands regularly,” Letlape advised.
According to Mariska van Aswegen, spokeswoman for pharmaceutical company Pharma Dynamics, parents fall ill almost twice as much as anyone else.
“Young children are a reservoir of germs, and if they’re at creche, school or any place elsewhere, they are around other children and in a super-virus environment, which makes them the perfect vectors for illness and for passing viruses around.
“Kids hug, touch and cough all over each other. They chew on toys and as a result share their saliva, and then parents hug, kiss and cuddle them. It’s no wonder the average parent catches a cold more often compared to those without children,” said Van Aswegen.
Letlape said it was imperative that children stayed home when ill to prevent more infections.
THE STAR