Cold and Flu News & Features

The pig virus, known as Porcine deltacoronavirus, was first identified in China in 2012. It was found in pigs but it was not associated with disease.

In lab tests, this molecule blocked viruses that cause colds and prevented them from taking control of human cells.

Armpit thermometers led to a large outbreak of drug-resistant Candida auris fungus in the United Kingdom.

Computer modeling shows that the number of people who get vaccinated is more important for protecting lives than the actual effectiveness of each season's vaccine.

The review actually uncovered preliminary links to 94 additional diseases, including breast cancer.

But hospitalizations for the flu are still a problem, and there have been additional pediatric deaths, the latest federal numbers show.

For the sixth week in a row, there was a decrease in the number of doctor visits for flu-like illness, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.

Bayer is voluntarily recalling some kinds of Alka-Seltzer Plus because the ingredients listed on the box may not be what’s actually in the product.

This model indicated that passengers at highest risk are those seated within a row of the sick passenger, or a seat or two to the side. These folks faced an 80 percent increased risk of catching whatever made the original passenger sick.

Since 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has required a warning on Tamiflu packaging that it may cause hallucinations and delirium in young patients and make them more apt to hurt themselves or take their own lives.

For the third week in a row, there was a decrease in the number of doctor visits for flu-like illness, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.

Most of influenza's misery is caused by the human body itself, or more precisely the immune system's response to the virus.

Unlike existing flu drugs, such as a Tamiflu, which require patients to take it twice-a-day for 5 days, the Japanese medication is taken in a single dose regardless of age the company said.

FluMist, the inhaled flu vaccine, may be on its way back to doctors’ offices in the U.S. A CDC vaccine committee voted Wednesday to put the nasal spray back on its list of available vaccines.

A flu shot is recommended for every person older than 6 months in the United States, even though the CDC reported on Thursday that this year's vaccine is only 25 percent effective against H3N2 influenza, the cause of most illness so far this season.

There was also a slight drop in doctor visits for flu-like illness: 7.5 percent of patient  visits during the week ending Feb. 10, down from 7.7 percent of patient visits the week before.

Believe it or not, one expert says there are ways to stem the spread of sickness -- even if you can't avoid being around other people.

Most children who have died of the flu so far this season had not been vaccinated, according to the CDC. Of the 63 confirmed flu deaths, investigators have health histories on 56 of them. Of those, 54% had an underlying medical condition which placed them at greater risk of severe flu complications.

Researchers say a certain spectrum of ultraviolet light -- called far-UVC -- easily kills airborne flu viruses while posing no risk to people.

Hospitalizations for the flu are the highest recorded since the CDC began tracking them a decade ago.

It's "100 percent" certain that another global flu crisis will happen, said Dr. Greg Poland, a virologist and vaccine researcher with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

From October until the end of January, nearly 15,000 people were admitted to hospitals because of the flu.

Cities that send teams to the Super Bowl don’t just snag bragging rights; they may also catch more flu. A 2015 study by health policy experts at Tulane University in New Orleans that looked at 35 years of data found an 18% increase in flu deaths among seniors in cities that send teams to the Super Bowl.

Although older adults always get hit hard with flu, doctors are less likely to order a flu test for people 65 and older and may miss diagnosing the flu, new research finds.

Flu activity has been higher in the U.S. for 9 weeks. Flu seasons typically last 16 to 20 weeks, putting the nation at the halfway point of its feverish and aching misery.