I lucked out on the fruitcake issue. I thought this was hilarious -- neighbors showed up to greet my sim when I first moved him in and of course, they brought the fruitcake. Then the visitors proceeded to eat ALL of it themselves, lol. My sim didn't get any! So, I guess they did him a favor by scarfing down all the cake before he could have any. ;)
My little sim girl has been sick off and on for three days now, but after that last dose of medicine, the illness hasn't returned and no one else has gotten sick. Maybe I've seen the end of it.