The first estimates of the severity of the H7N9 influenza virus show that about one-third of people who were hospitalized …
H1N1
Study Finds Small Risk Of Guillain-Barre Syndrome From H1N1 Vaccine
Public health experts say the benefits of vaccination still far outweigh the risks
A Bird Flu Spreads in Seals. Could Humans Be Next?
Last fall, 162 harbor seal pups mysteriously washed up dead on the shores of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Puzzled, scientists conducted autopsies on five of the animals, which suggested that a respiratory infection had killed …
H1N1 Vaccines Linked to Guillain-Barre Syndrome but Not Birth Defects
Two new studies confirm that the benefits of getting a flu shot outweigh the very small risks
H1N1’s Death Toll: 15 Times Higher than Previously Thought
The H1N1 flu pandemic of 2009-10 killed an estimated 284,500 people, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) scientists — an estimate that is 15 times higher than the previously recorded official death toll.
H5N1: Bird Flu Pandemic May Be Closer than Thought, Study Finds
It may take as few as five mutations for H5N1 to go from being a bird-only problem to a potentially deadly human pandemic flu, researchers report.
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 …
It’s No Guarantee, But You Should Get the Flu Shot Anyway
As vaccines go, the flu shot is no exemplar. A comprehensive new review of the research, published online by The Lancet Infectious Diseases, finds that the vaccine prevented illness in 59% of adults aged 18 to 64, and in eight of …
No Excuses! A Brief Guide to the Flu Shot
We got our flu shots at TIME Healthland HQ this week, which reminds us to remind you to do the same. A few flu shot basics to follow.
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 …
One Shot Wonder? Progress on a Universal Flu Vaccine
A universal flu vaccine may be on its way, thanks to a team of scientists in Britain and Switzerland and one anonymous patient who was immune to both of the main types of influenza A virus, one of the more common classes of 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 …