Pneumonia upsurge?

A few days ago in southern California my wife contracted what she thought was a cold. The early symptoms were of a sore throat and sneezing for two days prior to it getting worse. When it got worse it really knocked her down so I decided to drive her home to northern California, so she would feel more comfortable in her own home and near one of our daughters. When we went to her doctor the doctor said she was very worried at the number of viral pneumonia and bacterial pneumonia cases she was seeing lately, as it almost seemed like an epidemic to her.

One of my thoughts is the really late spring we are having on the west coast of the U.S.  this year. The weather we are having is mostly like weather we normally have around March or April. While the Eastern and Southern States are cooking, the Pacific Coastal states are probably at temperatures that mostly are 10 to 20 degrees below normal most places and as recently as June 1st I was skiing on 12 feet of snow at 7000 feet on Mt. Shasta and looking at a completely frozen over lake at 6000 feet on the same day. In mountainous regions this much snow remaining tends to create even more snow when storm systems come through and create their own weather. Also, there are no fires in California because it is still just too wet, snowy and green. Only in places like Arizona and points further east are there fires.

Also, these wet and colder conditions tend to increase pollen and mold counts dramatically and could be an influence in increasing cases of pneumonia here on the west coast. My wife is taking good care of herself and the doctor said she would know by Saturday if what she has is just a cold or flu or something more serious. I too, worried that I would get whatever this is but I have found if I walk at a really brisk pace with my dogs in the pine and fern forests nearby where I live I can burn out colds and flues before they can get me down so I think this is what I did today as any symptoms have disappeared that I was starting to have. So, if you are having cold or flu symptoms be sure to consult with a doctor because of all the pneumonia cases that seem to be appearing lately both viral and bacterial if you want to stay alive. It only makes good pragmatic sense.