PERSONAL HEALTH : Drink Up Plenty of Facts on Flu

So you’re in bed with the flu and you’ve had it up to here with watching the world turn and all those children. What you need are some facts about flu:

* Influenza is caused by three types of viruses. These viruses get nice and comfy in your respiratory tract, where they produce a cough, sore throat and runny nose.

* What separates flu from a cold is the fever, fatigue, severe headache, muscle aches and joint pains that accompany flu.

* The flu is quite tricky, capable of mutating rapidly and confusing the human immune system.

* Two main strains of influenza, known as A and B, are responsible for the annual epidemics. A third type, influenza C, causes only very mild respiratory symptoms.

* Until 1966, there was no drug available to attack the flu virus. Doctors offered aspirin or acetaminophen and recommended drinking fluids and bed rest.

* In 1966, the Food and Drug Administration approved amantadine hydrochloride, an antiviral medication that fights influenza A by stopping the virus from multiplying. Last month, a second drug--rimantadine--won FDA approval for use against influenza A.

* The flu vaccine this season contains three different killed influenza viruses that scientists, based on worldwide flu surveillance from World Health Organization laboratories and a network of international physicians, predict will be prevalent.