Low humidity might be what’s causing flu outbreaks during the winter.
More evidence showing that flu vaccination lowers risk of death in heart failure patients
Flu vaccines also offer protection against heart failure.
When it comes to influenza — Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus
Flu vaccine seems more effective in women; men recover faster from the flu.
Obesity May Also Increase Flu Spread, Not Just Flu Severity
A new study suggests obesity may play an important role in flu transmission.
A lung-healing protein could be the reason why men recover from flu faster than women
Sorry, ladies.
Dog flu might cause the next influeza pandemic
Its pattern of development is strikingly similar to bird flu.
A fiber-rich diet can protect against the flu
The bottom line: eat more fiber.
Scientists identify new Flu H1N2 from a mix of two other influenza viruses
The first case was reported in the Netherlands.
New studies describe a link between influenza and parotitis
Parotitis may be a complication of infection with the influenza virus.
H7N9 Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) Vaccine Trials Begin
Could we be drawing close to finally defeating this disease?
Far-ultraviolet lamps could eradicate airborne viruses in public spaces — with no risk to us
It can’t go through our skin, but it will wreck viruses and bacteria.
How to spot the difference between a cold and the flu
The viral infections share many symptoms but the flu can be a lot worse. Deadly worse.
The average adult catches a flu only twice a decade
Sick, got the flu? Well, maybe what you think is the flu really isn’t the flu… a new study has found that while children catch a flu once every two years on average, the rate goes down significantly in adults – the average adult only gets it once every 5 years.
Universal flu vaccine: now closer than ever
Researchers have identified a new class of antibodies that are capable of neutralizing a wide range of influenza A viruses, a discovery that could potentially lead to a universal flu vaccine. The vaccine would be applied only once an, instead of once every flu season today. Protection against all strains of flue, even mutated ones, would be assured for life according to scientists at McMaster and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York.
A third of Americans think antibiotics cure the flu
A lot of Americans seem to be confused about what are antibiotics and what they’re good for. According to a YouGov survey (full results), a third of American correspondents replied that antibiotics can cure the flu, while a third also thought that vaccines can give you the flu. It goes without saying that this is false. The findings suggest an over prevalence of thought that antibiotics are “good for everything”, an abuse that might cost public health dearly.
Vaccination starts with pregnancy, for everyone’s good health
The most important message mommies are missing is that pregnant women and their babies need vaccines to stay healthy, according to Saad Omer, a researcher the Royal Society for Public Health.
This protein makes you sleepy with the flu, but helps speed recovery
When the flu hits, an unmistakable feeling of drowsiness sinks in. Washington State University Spokane scientists have now found a specific protein that is uniquely involved in sleep responses triggered by the influenza virus in mice. They found that the protein boosts the healing power of sleep and helps recovery. The researchers speculate that it might be possible to develop treatments based on it that might speed up recovery even more.
Members of a previously uncontacted Amazonian tribe become infected with influenza
A few months ago, I reported how Google is using its drones and Google Earth technology to monitor an uncontacted Amazonian tribe. Now, there’s convincing evidence that the same tribe has come in contact with non-indigenous locals, then with western researchers in the most unfortunate of circumstances. One, the contact was initiated by criminals operating illegal narcotrafficking whose routes apparently pass
New bird flu infects Antarctic penguins
It’s so cold even penguins get the flu in the Antarctic. Seriously, researchers report in a paper published in the journal mBio how they identified a new strain of influenza that infects Adelie penguins which breed in huge colonies on the rocky Antarctic Peninsula. The virus itself seems to be dormant as the penguins don’t exhibit any visible flu symptoms, yet the findings do
Two children have a gene mutation which protects them from many viruses, including influenza, hepatitis C and HIV
A new study on which a swarm of scientists worked on showed that two children (an 11 year old boy and a 6 year old girl) have a mutation which greatly reduces viral replication in HIV, dengue fever, herpes simplex virus type 2 infection, and hepatitis C – effectively protecting them from the viruses. The two children are siblings, and their
