Free Republic

So how many people do you know who are sick with the latest round of cough/flu? And have been for weeks, if not months? About a third of my friends and family are. I was, but I catch just about everything - and then recover quickly thanks to an overactive immune system (which has problems of its own). So let's go conspiracy theory here: Are we in the middle of a bio attack? After all, I cannot remember when this many people I know spread around the US and two continents were sick the same way this long. But decades...

<p>More than half of the New York City Fire Department firefighters who developed what has been dubbed "World Trade Center cough" have not returned to active duty, according to reports out Monday.</p> <p>In the six months after the World Trade Center attacks, the eponymous ailment — defined as a cough severe enough to require at least four weeks of medical leave — occurred to 332 firefighters and one emergency medical services worker, says David Prezant, the fire department's deputy chief medical officer.</p>