If it felt like everyone around you was sick at once this winter, you weren\u2019t imagining it.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s flu season peaked around mid-December, with a sharper, narrower curve<\/a> than in previous years, according to Dr. Hugh Guan, associate medical officer of health at the Middlesex-London Health Unit, meaning more people were sick at the same time.<\/p>\n Ariana Bhatia, a third-year psychology and Ivey Business student, has noticed a pattern, contracting the flu this past month, as well as in December and October. Research suggests that stress may play a role.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve noticed that every time I have an exam, I get sick,\u201d Bhatia recalls. \u201cEven if it\u2019s not an exam, just any sort of heavy academic stress usually ends up making me feel unwell. And I don\u2019t think I\u2019m the only one. We recently had a 24-hour report, and our entire group wasn\u2019t feeling great.\u201d<\/p>\n Guan points to the infectious disease triad<\/a> used by infectious disease specialists: the agent, the host and the environment.<\/p>\n \u201cThe agent is the disease itself \u2014 in this case, the influenza virus. The host is the person, like you or me. And the environment is the broader context we live in,\u201d says Guan. \u201cAll three influence how likely someone is to get sick and how severe that illness might be. Stress falls under the host’s response.\u201d<\/p>\n