Category: Influenza
Experts predict this year’s flu season to be worse than usual—here’s why
National Geographic Every year, flu season in North America starts to peak around the holiday season. But this year, doctors and researchers are especially worried. “We will have a significant flu season this year, and we have a lot of concern that it’s going to be more severe than typical,” says Richard Martinello, an infectious diseases […]
Dec 10, 2025
Rare Temporary Flu Complication Can Leave Some Kids Unable to Walk
MedPageToday A 9-year-old girl in Michigan recently made the news after suddenly finding herself unable to walk during a bout with the flu. Before that, she experienced typical flu symptoms like fever, chills, and fatigue, and had plenty of rest and hydration. “When the fever broke after a few days, I thought she was turning […]
Dec 10, 2025
Japan’s flu season comes early as new variant spreads
Japan Times A new influenza variant spreading across Japan may be behind the increase in early outbreaks this year, the Japan Institute for Health Security (JIHS) has said. The new strain, called “Subclade K” is a variant of the type A flu virus, which typically spreads around the beginning of the flu season, while type […]
Dec 3, 2025
Is the U.S. in Store for Another Brutal Flu Season?
Scientific American U.S. flu rates remain low, but experts are keeping an eye on a new strain that’s been linked to unexpectedly early and severe seasons in several other countries. Influenza is picking up in the U.S., and public health experts are bracing for signs of another brutal season with the virus. Last year one of the […]
Nov 26, 2025
Flu season is just beginning, but doctors are already on high alert
NBC News While flu levels are still low, a strain that has wreaked havoc in the U.K. and Canada is behind most cases so far in the U.S., mostly affecting kids. The flu has started spreading earlier than usual in some parts of the country, prompting concerns that cases could soon erupt as millions of Americans travel […]
Nov 26, 2025
Influenza A(H1N1) Has More High-Risk Features Than Other Subtypes
Infectious Disease Advisor Among hospitalized adults with severe influenza, A(H1N1) subtype was linked to an increased risk for severe clinical markers, including respiratory distress and intensive care unit admission, when compared with A(H3N2) and B subtypes. Among patients hospitalized with severe influenza, those with A(H1N1) have more high-risk clinical indicators compared with those with other […]
Nov 19, 2025
Respiratory virus season has arrived. What to know about getting this year’s vaccines
CNN It’s that time of year when the leaves are turning golden, there’s a chill in the air and the threat of respiratory viruses like Covid-19, influenza or RSV looms across the country. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects the 2025-26 fall and winter respiratory disease season to have a similar number […]
Oct 15, 2025
Why some influenza viruses are more dangerous than others
Medical Express Serious infections with influenza A viruses are characterized by an excessive immune response, known as cytokine storm. It was previously unclear why some virus strains trigger these storms, while others do not. Researchers at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut investigated 11 different influenza A virus strains and their effect on different human immune cells. The results, published […]
Sep 10, 2025
Everything You Need to Know About Flu Shots This Fall
NYT It’s that time of year again. School is starting, the days are getting shorter and the familiar “flu shots available” signs are appearing outside pharmacies. Each year, the flu kills tens of thousands of people in the United States, on average, and hundreds of thousands are hospitalized. How can you protect yourself this season? Here’s what […]
Sep 3, 2025
Swiss genome of the 1918 influenza virus reconstructed
Medical Express Researchers from the universities of Basel and Zurich have used a historical specimen from UZH’s Medical Collection to decode the genome of the virus responsible for the 1918–1920 influenza pandemic in Switzerland. The genetic material of the virus reveals that it had already developed key adaptations to humans at the outset of what […]
Jul 16, 2025