How does it feel to lose a beloved pet? Most of us feel bereft as they leave a hole in our hearts. Snow White succumbed to a disease transmitted by ticks. We lived in a cool place called Baguio City where there were no ticks. A couple of months ago, we transferred to a new home at a farm with a tropical hot climate at La Union. The place was teeming with ticks and she was infested. In my ignorance, I never knew that ticks can be deadly. Here's a poem to remember her....

Isn’t it puzzling that when winter starts, influenza season starts too. Recent studies have unraveled this association. In winter, people stay most of the time indoors, congregate in crowded malls or in enclosed unventilated enclosures of elevators where influenza virus is discharged nasally or orally. These factors makes infectivity soar. Other critical factors may come into play, the freezing weather and predilection of the influenza virus to thrive in cold climate but some studies point out that vitamin D may be a factor. ...