If you have flu symptoms, please, please don't go to work or be in close proximity to others in public places. We all know you're a trooper and can tough it out, but that's not the point. Take the welfare of everyone else around you into account. Many of us do have better things to do with our time than get sick.
There's a person at the office who had flu-like symptoms. This person spent a week in a conference room in close proximity to four other people, one of whom was a pregnant woman. This person was later diagnosed with H1N1. Out of those other four people in the conference room, one of them was diagnosed as having H1N1.
With the supply of H1N1 vaccine still short in the US, there's a limit to how much we (those of us who do have better things to do with our time than get sick) can do to thwart the illness. In this case, if you need to be in a conference room with other people all week, there's not much you can do to avoid those people that may be sick. On the other hand, if you're not feeling well, you do have the ability to minimize your exposure to other people.
Staying home when you have flu symptoms (or really any time you are unwell) is not just a matter of common courtesy; it could save the life of someone. Geez.
(No, I'm not a germaphobe, but I do have an aversion to getting sick. There's only so much hand washing and hand sanitizer I can use.)
