Life comes at you fast, and it appears that so does the latest scourge of people trying to do something useful with all their New Year optimism, the dreaded Aussie flu.
Yesterday we reported that the contagious flu strain has spread to pretty much every place in the UK. Now only three parts of the UK remain untouched as it has swept across the country in record time.
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According to the website Flusurvey, the potentially deadly H3N2 strain has taken the Brecon Beacons and Telford, two places which yesterday had no reported cases of the illness.
Now they both have at least one each, meaning that the last few places to be unaffected by Aussie flu are Dorchester, Dartford and, miraculously, the City of London. Keep going, guys.
Flusurvey's map, which relies on patients self-reporting, shows the amount of influenza-like illness reported around the UK right now, showing a gradient from 'no reported' cases (blue) to a 'very high' number of cases (red).
While over 1,500 cases have been officially reported, because the map relies on members of the public being well enough to report their sniffles, the true figure of people with flu could now be much higher.
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The dangerous new strain of influenza has skyrocketed in recent days as the NHS tackles one of the worst flu seasons the UK has seen in half a century.
Thousands of operations across the country have been cancelled as hospitals are struggling to cope with the huge swell of patients caused by the strain.
According to Flusurvey, Northern Ireland, Essex, Teesside and Devon appear to be among the worst affected areas.
Apparently, Norn Iron is having such problems with Aussie flu that churches in the state have banned handshakes in a bid to stop the spread. We'll see how that one goes.
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A statement from the office of Bishop Noel Treanor said: "The customary sign of peace handshake exchanged during mass is suspended until the risk of infection is significantly reduced."
Data from Public Health England said that at least 1,649 people have been hit by the H3N2 strain in England and Wales in the space of just one week over Christmas.
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In the past week 112 more people were admitted to non-emergency hospital wards, while 17 people were admitted to intensive care. Cripes.
You might not think that flu is a big deal, but around 8,000 people die each year because of flu in England and Wales. Experts even warned last year that Aussie flu could raise the death rate.
The symptoms of Aussie flu are pretty much the same as those you'd get with normal flu, except worse. If you're really ill for more than a week, it might be worth getting checked out.
Featured Image Credit: PA