Never mind the flu, it's the common cold we need to be wary of

Just in time for the Christmas holidays, a nasty bug begins to work its way across the continent.

A mutated strain of the common cold virus, has researchers at the Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta a little worried about its ability to knock healthy young adults for a loop, in some cases resulting in death.

The Ad14 form of adenovirus hasn't been seen since 1969, when it ran through military recruits stationed in Europe. It has briefly flared up from time to time since, but there has not been a widespread break out of it until this year.

Known by some as the Boot camp flu, where it swept through the Lackland Air Force base in San Antonio, leaving hundreds of service men sick and resulting in the death of one from its effects.

A strain of the Ad14 virus has been pegged as responsible for the deaths of ten people in the last eighteen months and has made hundreds ill in a number of US states so far this year. In April traces of it reached Oregon and Washington state.

As the cold and flu season begins to stir across North America, the folks at the CDC will be keeping an eye out for further break outs of the illness. But there's not a lot that can be done once it hits. There are currently no good antiviral medications for adenoviruses. Patients usually are treated with aspirin, liquids and bed rest.

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And if your mother has her way, a bowl of chicken soup!