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Flu Source of More Sick Days Than Any Other Respiratory Illness

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Employees with influenza have lost more work time compared to employees with other types of respiratory illness, according to a study in the December Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

The study looked at 1,278 employed adults who had acute respiratory illness over four influenza seasons, from 2012-13 to 2015-16. Those who were found to have laboratory-confirmed influenza missed an additional half-day of work, compared to those whose illness was not confirmed to be influenza. Previous studies have suggested high productivity losses due to influenza, but few studies have included laboratory testing to confirm the influenza virus.