death - the difference between the common cold and the flu

There seems to be a major epidemic of the common cold in Australia, and newspapers like the Herald Sun are creating hysteria by using words like “Flu” in the headline, but going on to discuss the common cold in the article. By doing this they are just encouraging the sick leave junkies and the hypochondriacs.

As a contractor, I tend to work through most illnesses. I draw the line at real eyesight effecting migraines and anything requiring regular urgent toilet breaks, but these occur less frequently than the many variations of the cold virus.