Cold and Flu News & Features

A man who worked on a commercial poultry farm in Colorado has tested positive for avian influenza A(H5) virus, better known as H5 bird flu, the CDC said Thursday.

China has recorded the first human infection with the H3N8 strain of brain flu, though the risk of transmission among people remains low.

Outbreaks of the norovirus, which causes stomach flu, have increased dramatically since the beginning of January.

Study: Nasal Spray Flu Vaccine Safe for Kids With Asthma March 30, 2022The nasal spray flu vaccine does not worsen symptoms for children with asthma despite current warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a new clinical trial published in the journal Pediatrics.Researchers found that the quadrivalent live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV4), also called the nasal spray vaccine, is just as safe for kids with asthma as the intramuscular quadrivalent inactivated influenza (IIV4) vaccine, also known as the flu shot.Researchers found that in a trial of 151 children between 5 and 17 years

Half a Million Chickens to Be Destroyed in Bird Flu Outbreak March 23, 2022A commercial chicken farm in Nebraska will destroy 570,000 broilers because a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza – better known as bird flu – was discovered in the flock, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture reported.Earlier this month, bird flu was discovered in a backyard flock in Merrick County and in wild geese in Lincoln and Cedar and Douglas counties, the department said in a news release. The Lincoln wild goose case was the first instance of bird flu in the state since 2015.“Having

Number of Flu Cases Lower Than Pre-pandemic Levels March 21, 2022The number of influenza cases is increasing across the United States but has not hit pre-pandemic levels, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Protection says.One of the positive side effects of the COVID pandemic was a drop in flu cases, apparently because people were isolating and social distancing. In the 2019-2020 season, more 22,000 people in the U.S. died from flu. Deaths decreased to about 700 for the 2020-2021 season.For the 2021-22 flu season so far, the CDC estimates there have been 1,700 flu deaths, 2.9

Flu vaccines aren’t providing as much as much protection as hoped for against the most widely circulating strain of influenza, a new study says, but it appears the vaccines will still prevent severe illness in people who are infected.

Experts say it is far too early to say if the country will have a normal – i.e., bad – flu season or a repeat of last year, when the flu all but disappeared amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

A cholesterol drug and a pair of antidepressants affect what happens when influenza viruses make contact with human cells.

The flu shot isn't that effective. Here's why experts say you should still get it anyway.

There are tantalizing suggestions that zinc helps prevent and treat respiratory tract infections.

There's new evidence supporting the habit of popping a zinc supplement at the first sign of a cold.

Cough and cold medications should not be given to young children, warn experts, who say that kids under the age of 4 are especially at risk.

A rebound in the number and severity of flu cases is predicted for the 2021-22 season, and experts are recommending that everyone over the age of 6 months get their annual flu shot.

Waning natural immunity in the public due to last year's missing flu season will leave people -- and especially young children -- susceptible to the virus, warn flu trackers assessing this year's risk.

Research finds quick decline in influenza vaccination efficacy among hospitalized adults, suggesting delays might improve public health outcomes.

Cold and flu season was quite different in 2020 with the addition of COVID-19. Here’s what you need to know going into the 2021 season.

Got a double whammy and caught COVID-19 and a cold or flu at the same time? Here’s how to handle it.

The more work-related contact people had with others, the greater their flu risk.

While many Americans await their turn for the COVID vaccine, a potentially record-setting number have already had their flu shot.

The U.S. is seeing historically low levels of flu this season, which started in September 2020.

Reasons why your cough persists (conditions that cause chronic cough) and what you may be doing to impede healing (lifestyle habits).

Parents who didn't take their children for a flu shot last year are least likely to do so this year (less than a third), while parents who took their child for a flu shot last year were most likely to do so again (96%), according to the survey.

A new U.S. study finds that cold weather is responsible for most temperature-related deaths in Illinois.

An increased vaccination rate among grade schoolers in California was associated with a decrease in flu hospitalizations for folks in every other age bracket, researchers report.