Surely a coincidence

[SmartyPants0]

I have had a chest infection...
My MIL friend has has a heavy cold and my niece has had flu. AIBU to think that this is all coincidence given that we all live 50 miles apart and haven't been in contact for months! MIL reckons that there is something going around...
Please help settle this heated debate
Who's right?

It’s winter there is always something going around. It’s not a pandemic it’s just flu season

I have a stinking cold.
It is winter so bound to happen.
Although about 3 weeks ago I mentioned I hadn't really had a bad cold yet this year so it's probably less to do with winter and more a punishment coz I jinxed myself

Well by the sounds of it there’s at least three things going round ...

I’ve had sniffles now came out today as full blown laryngitis

Eh what? It’s winter. There will be lots of different bugs doing the rounds, and they will mutate as the season progresses.

I’m just getting over a week long thing that felt like flu but wasn’t bad enough to be flu... there’s all sorts about this time of year, just the luck of the draw which one you end up with in my experience!

There is a cold in my house. The asthmatic has a chest infection (standard) the husband has "flu" I've got a sniffle and another has a genetic cold. Its winter. Lots of viruses going round and they all affect us differently.

Generic not genetic!

One chest infection, one cold and one 'flu' (which wont be influenza at all , are not the same thing.

Its one of those irritating things people say without thinking about it. As soon as more than one person is ill there is some office busy body wandering around telling everyone that there is "something going around"

The common cold is a coincidence? No, it's just common.

Coincidence.

How many of MILs friends are not ill? How many family members are not ill?

Of course in the winter people are going to know people who are ill. Your MIL seems to be looking for a link when there is none.