influenza – News Stories About influenza - Page 1

UK Sees an Unwanted First: Swine Flu in a Human

UK Has an Unwanted First:
Human Case of Swine Flu

Nov 28, 2023 1:35 PM CST

UK Has an Unwanted First: Human Case of Swine Flu

At least 50 cases have been reported worldwide since 2005, so far with little consequence

(Newser) - The UK has joined a club it would have rather avoided: countries in which a human caught a case of swine flu. The unidentified patient has fully recovered from what was described as a mild illness, reports New Scientist . Health authorities say the person didn't work with pigs—the...

Updated COVID Shots Are Around the Corner

Updated COVID Shots Part
of Plan to Avoid 'Tripledemic'

Sep 9, 2023 6:00 AM CDT

Updated COVID Shots Part of Plan to Avoid 'Tripledemic'

Approval of updated vaccines expected within days, just in time for flu and RSV season

(Newser) - Updated COVID-19 vaccines are coming soon, just in time to pair them with flu shots. Doctors hope enough people get vaccinated to help avert another "tripledemic" like last year, when hospitals were overwhelmed with an early flu season, an onslaught of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and yet another winter...

When It Comes to
Bird Flu, 'It's a New War'

Feb 16, 2023 9:40 AM CST

When It Comes to Bird Flu, 'It's a New War'

Virus emerges in record amounts, and in new places, meaning it may be here to stay

(Newser) - Will bird flu lead to the next pandemic? That's the question making the headline rounds of late, and the short answer is—it's possible, though the threat isn't currently high. What is the concern of the moment is that wild birds have spread avian influenza, which is...

Drug Chains Restrict
Purchase of Children's Meds

Dec 20, 2022 10:30 AM CST

Drug Chains Restrict Purchase of Children's Meds

Demand as respiratory illnesses thrive forces CVS, Walgreens to limit amount customers can buy

(Newser) - Parents on the hunt for medication for their sick kids may not be able to immediately find what they need on drugstore shelves, thanks to a spike in various respiratory illnesses and, therefore, higher demand for those meds. CNN reports that the CVS and Walgreens chains have placed limits on...

44 States Report
High Flu Activity

Dec 3, 2022 5:30 AM CST

44 States Report High Flu Activity

Winter flu season usually doesn't get going until December or January, but this one started early

(Newser) - The US flu season keeps getting worse. Health officials said Friday that 7.5% of outpatient medical visits last week were due to flu-like illnesses. That's as high as the peak of the 2017-18 flu season and higher than any season since, the AP reports. The annual winter flu...

Flu Season Has Gotten Off to an Intense Start

We Haven't Seen a Flu Season
This Intense Since 2009

Oct 28, 2022 2:03 PM CDT

We Haven't Seen a Flu Season This Intense Since 2009

CDC says we're seeing hospitalization case levels we usually don't see till December

(Newser) - The CDC's weekly influenza report is out, and it's got concerning news on an atypically early flu season, with a "dramatic" surge in hospitalizations for flu over the past few weeks that have reached levels the US normally doesn't see until December. The health agency reports...

With This Year's Flu Vaccine,
a 'Major Mismatch'

NEW STUDY

Dec 17, 2021 8:35 AM CST

With This Year's Flu Vaccine, a 'Major Mismatch'

Scientists say vax isn't helping much to prevent infection, but can still fend off serious illness, death

(Newser) - Health experts, including those at the CDC , are urging the public to not only get vaccinated against COVID, but also against the flu. New research suggests, however, that one of the main strains of the influenza virus that's now going around has mutated, and that this year's flu...

CDC Investigates 'Unusual'
Flu Outbreak at University

Nov 16, 2021 4:06 PM CST

CDC Investigates 'Unusual' Flu Outbreak at University

University of Michigan surge in cases could be a sign of things to come for the rest of country

(Newser) - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention experts have been sent to the University of Michigan's Ann Arbor campus to learn more about a surge in flu cases—and what it might mean for the rest of the country as flu season approaches. Some 528 cases have been diagnosed at...

COVID's Death Toll
Catches 1918 Flu's

Sep 20, 2021 7:15 PM CDT

COVID's Death Toll Catches 1918 Flu's

One model shows another 100,000 people will be killed by January

(Newser) - COVID-19 has now killed about as many Americans as the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic did—approximately 675,000. The US population a century ago was one-third of what it is today, meaning the flu cut a much bigger, more lethal swath through the country. But the COVID-19 crisis is by...

This Year's Flu Numbers
Are Kind of Stunning

This Year's Flu Numbers Are Kind of Stunning

Almost nobody is getting it amid the pandemic

(Newser) - It may be hard to fathom, but the pandemic seems to have an upside, too: The flu is pretty much nonexistent this year. Popular Science delivers the remarkable stat: In 2019, the US recorded 65,000 cases from late September to late December. In 2020, that figure dropped to 1,...

California Patient Has
Flu, COVID Co-Infection

Oct 30, 2020 3:00 AM CDT

California Patient Has Flu, COVID Co-Infection

It's the first such co-infection reported in Solano County

(Newser) - Experts have been warning of a "twindemic" during the fall and winter months, with both coronavirus and seasonal influenza potentially running rampant in the US—and states have begun reporting patients who do indeed have both viruses simultaneously . The latest co-infection to be reported is out of Solano County,...

Computer Model Forecasts
a 'Very Deadly December'

Sep 12, 2020 7:30 AM CDT

Computer Model Forecasts a 'Very Deadly December'

Along with COVID-19, doctors are also worried about a 'twindemic' of the virus and flu

(Newser) - Dr. Anthony Fauci cautioned Thursday that Americans should prepare to "hunker down" for the fall and winter to keep COVID-19 at bay, and a new computer model is lending weight to that warning. CNN reports that the University of Washington's influential Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation forecast...

Now Scientists Are Warning
About a Scary New Flu Virus

Jun 30, 2020 6:50 AM CDT

Now Scientists Are Warning About a Scary New Flu Virus

Virus can be transmitted from pigs to humans, but scientists worry it will mutate further

(Newser) - The year 2020 really is the gift that keeps on giving: Now researchers are warning that an influenza virus with the potential to become a pandemic has been discovered in China. Called G4 EA H1N1, the flu virus is carried by pigs but has already been transmitted to a small...

For 101-Year-Old
Virus Patient, a 'Truly
Extraordinary' Recovery

Mar 30, 2020 8:21 AM CDT

For 101-Year-Old Virus Patient, a 'Truly Extraordinary' Recovery

'Mr. P' was born in 1919, during the Spanish flu pandemic

(Newser) - The New York Post is calling him a "living marvel," while Forbes deems his case "miraculous." At the very least, a 101-year-old Italian man is making headlines after being released from the hospital after recovering from the coronavirus. CNN reports that "Mr. P" was admitted...

Her Mom
Thought She
Had a Cold.
Then She
Lost Her Sight

Mar 9, 2020 8:58 AM CDT

Her Mom Thought She Had a Cold. Then She Lost Her Sight

Jade DeLucia can now see again after a frightening bout with the flu

(Newser) - It's been a traumatic couple of months for the family of Jade DeLucia, but the news has been getting better. Per KCRG , the Iowa 4-year-old started feeling sick in the days before Christmas, but mom Amanda Phillips thought she just had a cold. Then, on Christmas Eve, Jade was...

Swabs Reveal Clue
in Migrant Boy's Death

Dec 28, 2018 8:05 AM CST

Swabs Reveal Clue in Migrant Boy's Death

Felipe Gómez Alonzo had the flu: medical investigator

(Newser) - The 8-year-old Guatemalan boy who died in US custody on Christmas Eve had the flu, according to the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator. "Results of nasal and lung swabs have tested positive for influenza B," though "determining an accurate cause of death requires further evaluation,...

Last Flu Season Was
Deadliest in Decades. This
Might Be One Reason Why

Oct 25, 2018 4:00 PM CDT

Last Flu Season Was Deadliest in Decades. This Might Be One Reason Why

Just 37.1% of adults got flu shot

(Newser) - Last winter's flu season was the deadliest since the 1970s—79,000 people died—and a report released by the CDC Thursday might explain why. Per the report, just 37.1% of adults were vaccinated last season—the lowest rate since the 2010-11 season, and a drop of 6....

For the First Time in 2 Decades,
a New Flu Drug Hits US

Oct 25, 2018 11:00 AM CDT

For the First Time in 2 Decades, a New Flu Drug Hits US

US health regulators approve Xofluza

(Newser) - US health regulators have approved the first new type of flu drug in two decades. Wednesday's approval of Xofluza for people ages 12 and older comes ahead of the brunt of this winter's flu season. Xofluza is a pill that can reduce severity and shorten duration of flu...

Unvaccinated Child Is
First Death of Flu Season

Oct 16, 2018 12:07 AM CDT

Unvaccinated Child Is First Death of Flu Season

Death should be a 'wake-up call,' experts say

(Newser) - An unvaccinated child in Florida has become the first death of flu season, officials say. The child, whose age and hometown has not been disclosed, died between Sept. 30 and Oct. 6 of influenza B, ABC reports. Officials say the child was otherwise healthy, with no underlying conditions. According to...

Passengers on 2 Flights
to Philadelphia Fall Ill

Sep 7, 2018 12:10 AM CDT

Passengers on 2 Flights to Philadelphia Fall Ill

250 were held for medical review

(Newser) - There was a health scare at Philadelphia International Airport Thursday after two separate American Airlines flights from Europe arrived with sick passengers—the day after an Emirates plane was quarantined at JFK because of passenger illness. The Philadelphia flights arrived from Munich and Paris but as with the Emirates flight,...