During the 2009-10 H1N1 or “swine flu” pandemic, the same virus that caused mild coughing and sneezing in some patients proved fatal for others. It highlighted a medical mystery: why are some people more fit to handle the flu than others?
Flu
How a New Swine Flu Virus Could Complicate Influenza Season
Since August, the CDC has logged 12 cases of human infection with H3N2, a new flu virus from pigs. Should we be worried?
Should Journals Describe How Scientists Made a Killer Flu?
In an unprecedented move, the U.S. government asked scientific journals not to publish the details of experiments on the deadly H5N1, for fear that the information could be used with malice. Is such censorship smart?
2 Out of 3 Medical Students Don’t Know When to Wash Their Hands
It’s cold and flu season, which means you should be washing your hands — a lot. And that rule should apply to health care workers most of all, to protect not just themselves but their patients. Problem is, most doctors are …
Study: H1N1 Can Be Deadly Even for Healthy Kids
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 …
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 …
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 …