Category: Influenza
As Covid Spread, a Strain of Flu Disappeared. Now Scientists Say a Second Could Go Too
Bloomberg Stay-at-home orders, border closures, mask-wearing and other measures aimed at stemming Covid-19’s spread led to the global disappearance of a notorious winter germ. Now, scientists say it might be feasible with better vaccines to rid the world of a second one. For decades, flu epidemics were driven by four strains. One of them, the so-called Yamagata-lineage […]
Mar 13, 2024
Is It Too Late to Get a Flu Shot?
NYT Influenza season goes until spring, so getting the vaccine late can still give you some protection. In the United States, annual flu vaccine campaigns begin in early September, before temperatures start to cool down and the cycle of people catching and spreading virus commences. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that most people get […]
Dec 5, 2023
What to Know About the Flu Virus
NYT What’s the difference between influenza A and influenza B, and does it matter which you catch? Each fall, the flu emerges as a formidable force, spreading through the droplets produced when people cough, sneeze or talk, and sometimes hitching a ride to our noses by way of the infected surfaces that we touch. Influenza […]
Nov 15, 2023
Flu Season Remains Mostly Green
Precision Vaccinations The best news concerning the 2023-2024 flu season in the United States is that most people have yet to be impacted by an influenza virus. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), six states reported a moderate level of seasonal flu cases as of November 3, 2023, and two areas […]
Nov 8, 2023
Australia’s having an intense flu season, and it could be a signal of what’s to come in the US
CNN It’s only June, but scientists in the US are already thinking about flu season. As always at this time of year, they’re keeping a close eye on Australia, which saw an early start to its flu season. Some parts of the country are seeing a spike in illness, and the highest number of cases are […]
Jun 13, 2023
COVID-19 has left the world less prepared for an influenza pandemic
Nature Prior to 2020, most pandemic preparedness efforts centered on influenza. Some countries, such as Aotearoa (New Zealand)1, were able to successfully adapt national pandemic influenza plans to the response to COVID-19, and global influenza surveillance systems were harnessed for SARS-CoV-2 (ref. 2). It is now critical that nations and the international community implement lessons learned […]
Apr 25, 2023
A new flu is spilling over from cows to people in the U.S. How worried should we be?
NPR In 2011, a farmer in Oklahoma had a bunch of sick pigs. The animals had what looked like the flu. “Just like a person with respiratory disease, the pigs had labored breathing, maybe a runny nose, cough and potentially a fever,” says virologist Benjamin Hause. At the time, Hause was working at the company […]
Apr 6, 2023
Flu Outbreak in China Intensifies as Infection Rises for Sixth Week
Bloomberg An influenza outbreak in China picked up intensity over the past week as a major city prepared to enforce pandemic-style lockdowns to curb the surge in infections. The positivity rate for flu jumped to 41.6% in the week beginning March 5 from 25.1% the previous week, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention […]
Mar 14, 2023
Tripledemic Update: RSV, Covid And Flu
(Forbes) The United States has already plunged into one of the roughest seasons of winter illnesses in decades. After nearly three years of being sequestered, children and adults are back out in crowds, with no masks, no distancing, and viruses waiting with open arms. Well, open RNA strands, at least. We’ve rounded the bend on […]
Dec 16, 2022
The childhood diseases making a post-lockdown comeback
(BBC) RSV, Strep A, the flu: a range of familiar bugs are worrying doctors and parents with strange new patterns. What’s behind the outbreaks? As child after child gasping for air was admitted to the hospital, Rabia Agha gritted her teeth. In her role as director of the paediatric infectious diseases division at Maimonides Children’s […]
Dec 12, 2022