Cold and Flu News & Features

Germs live and thrive in the workplace. Find out about germ hot spots, when contamination is at its worst, and how to protect yourself.

Prevention efforts have reduced deaths from antibiotic-resistant bugs by 18% overall and by nearly 30% in hospitals, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed Nov. 13 in an update of its Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States report.

Proper hand-washing with soap and water is one of the best ways to protect yourself during the cold and flu season, an expert says.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is looking for volunteers to be infected with the virus on purpose, those who are brave enough will receive up to $3,300 in return.

The new pill, which targets the genetics of influenza viruses, has shown that it can reduce fever and respiratory symptoms in lab animals, as well as reducing the overall amount of virus in their bodies, researchers report.

A nurse’s Facebook post is going viral after she penned a powerful statement urging everyone to get a flu shot.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency's announcement that it won't vaccinate migrants is being slammed by public health experts.

The effectiveness of last season's vaccine was the second lowest since 2011.

When it's diagnosed, Q fever can be cured with antibiotics. But chronic cases can lead to serious heart and blood vessel infections and have poor outcomes,lead researcher Dr. Christine Akamine says.

Early estimates suggest this year's flu vaccine, overall, is about 47% effective. It is generally less effective against the influenza A (H3N2) than other virus types.

Though this year's flu hasn't been as bad as last year's, it's still been a severe season, not the mild one health officials had hoped for. It will still be weeks before flu drops to levels needed for the CDC to declare the season over.

Changes to the nasal spray appear to have improved its effectiveness, and the American Academy of Pediatrics is now endorsing it as well as flu shots to protect children.

The risk of getting the flu rises about 16% every 28 days after vaccination, according to a study by Kaiser Permanente Northern California researchers.

At the start of the flu season, the main strain was influenza A H1N1, but now a more severe strain, influenza A H3N2, accounts for nearly half of all the new cases, the CDC says.

This year's flu vaccine offers 47 percent protection against all circulating strains, according to researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As of Feb. 2, flu is widespread in 47 states, and 24 states are seeing high levels of the disease. In addition, hospitalizations are increasing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

Researchers think flu-related inflammation may raise your chance for a stroke, and a strong immune response to the flu virus increases blood clotting and wear and tear on your blood vessels, which may boost your risk of having torn neck artery.

Researchers have been working for years on a universal flu vaccine that would mean no annual flu shots. How close are they getting to one?

The flu can alter your immunity and make you more prone to other infections,. Getting a flu shot is relatively cheap and can reduce hospitalizations, acute heart illnesses and death.

As of Jan. 5, 15 states and New York City were reporting high flu activity, and it was widespread in 30 states.

When a mom-to-be gets the flu, she can be so sick she needs to be admitted to a hospital's intensive care unit. And new research finds her baby then runs the risk of being born preterm, underweight and with a low "Apgar score" -- a gauge of an infant's overall health.

“Influenza-like illness," also called “flu-like illness,” is a more wide-ranging category.

People who received a flu shot while in the hospital had no increased risk of outpatient visits or hospital readmission within seven days after leaving the hospital. They also had no increased risk of fever or laboratory tests for infection, the findings showed.

A new drug to treat flu, Xofluza, is now available to pharmacies nationwide. It joins Tamiflu, the most commonly prescribed treatment.

Researchers found fewer cases of flu in places where people did not rely as much on public transportation or had shorter commutes with fewer stops.