The mystery of the sneezy stomach bug

So, on Friday I woke up at 4am with a bout of what I believe was viral gastroenteritis -- a.k.a. the stomach "flu." Lots of nasty symptoms including vomiting, diarrhea and fever. It was yucky, but luckily I could stay home and rest as I had no deadlines that day.

What I found interesting about the illness was that despite the absence of any other respiratory symptoms, I found myself sneezing a lot more that day than I normally do. Sneezing would be a pretty effective way to pass on a bug like this, so I can't help but wonder whether the virus evolved this sneezing symptom precisely for that reason -- to improve its infectiousness. If I've come down the with same strain that has been all over the news this season, then perhaps this explains why it's been so damn virulent.

Luckily, I feel all better now. Phew.