Did dinosaurs get the flu?

 We may never know, but they certainly got sick.

One specimen had advanced, metastasized bone cancer that was probably terminal, although the poor thing, a smaller cousin to the triceratops, died in a flash flood.

Another dinosaur was diagnosed with septic arthritis, which happens when a joint gets infected. This was after ruling out gout and tuberculosis.

A number of T-Rex jaws have sets of smooth-edged lesions. We thought they came from fights, but they look a lot like trichomonosis. This is known today as avian canker, and affects a variaty of modern birds. It can range from asymptomatic to lethal (the lesions block the esophagus or the trachea).

And back to did dinosaurs get the flu? A diplodpocid sauropod specimen was found with a growth on a vertebrae that had fossilized and looked like a broccoli floret. Turns out this was right where the air sacs attach...and the dinosaur was diagnosed with airsacculitis, which is inflammation of the air sacs, which, yes, again is common in modern birds. Alas, not the flu...most likely a bacterial or fungal infection.

So, we don't know if dinosaurs got the flu. But it's very likely they got something that made them cough.

Gotta feel sorry for the sick dinos!