Flu prevention is important for everyone, but here’s another reason to make sure to get vaccinated: in a study of childhood flu deaths from the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, researchers found that otherwise healthy kids can succumb to …
Flu
Afraid of the Flu Shot? Try a Smaller Needle
Flu vaccine makers began shipping on Monday a new form of the annual flu shot, with a significantly shorter needle. The new vaccine should make it easier for people with a fear of needles to get immunized, and in the event of a …
CDC: 115 Kids Died of Flu Last Season, Most Weren’t Vaccinated
Children rarely die of the flu, but the illness can be more severe than parents think — which is why, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Thursday, vaccination is crucial.
It’s Back: Bird Flu Returns, and This Time It’s Mutated
MIT Scientists Develop a Drug to Fight Any Viral Infection
Scientists at MIT are developing a new drug that may fight viruses as effectively as antibiotics like penicillin dispatch bacteria. The broad-spectrum treatment is designed to trigger cell suicide in cells that have been invaded …
Family MattersPregnancy
Flu Season Prep: Pregnant Women Should Get Vaccinated
It’s summertime, which seems like a bit of an odd time to be publishing research about influenza. Who’s thinking about fever, chills and achiness when skies are sunny? Well, if you’re pregnant come fall when flu …
How Flu Spreads on a Plane
As if the generally horrific experience of flying wasn’t bad enough (maybe I’m just a little sour about the 90 minutes I spent on the tarmac at Newark last night), a new study [PDF] in Emerging Infectious Diseases shows that …
A New Project to Track Animal Diseases Before They Infect Humans
Back at the start of 2009, I thought I was sure where the next influenza pandemic would come from: Asia. I’d spent a few years in the region following the steady progression of the H5N1 avian flu virus as it spread from wild and …
How to Lower Your Risk of Catching a Cold: Work Out
Have you noticed that the most physically active and fit people you know never seem to get sick? They appear to breeze healthily through cough and cold season with nary a sniffle, and what’s worse, they tell you it’s because …
Family MattersPregnancy
Pregnant? Flu Shots Protect Moms — and Their Babies
Roll up your sleeves, moms-to-be. It’s flu-shot season, and new research released Monday shows that babies whose mothers were vaccinated during pregnancy were less likely to get the flu or to be hospitalized with respiratory …
Wash Your Hands, Yes. But How You Dry Them Matters Too
With flu season right around the corner, your mother, doctor and HR manager will no doubt be reminding you of the usual preventive measures: Get a flu shot. Cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze. Wash your hands with …
All Together Now: Eeeeuuuww!
Here’s a tip: If you ever use a public restroom at New York’s Penn Station, consider buying a hazmat suit first and decontaminating before you rejoin the world. Many commuters passing through the station — and the bathroom — …
Post-H1N1, Why You Still Need to Worry About Flu
The H1N1 pandemic has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of the flu strain that started it all.
