influenza

1. (pathology) An acute contagious disease of the upper airways and lungs, caused by a virus, which rapidly spreads around the world in seasonal epidemics.Examples: "In early 1919 the Board also issued a film, Dr Wise on Influenza, in which a character called 'Brown' spreads the disease by enacting poor behaviours. This did address transport - by boarding a crowded omnibus, "Brown may be scattering germs throughout the carriage and giving influenza to a number of people"."Synonyms: flu, grippe, gripcountableuncountable