Influenza is a viral infection of the respiratory tract that causes coughing, breathing difficulty, fever, headache, muscle aches and weakness. The virus is spread from person to person by inhaling infected droplets from the air.
Update Date: 9/16/2011
David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc., David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine.