Measles: How to Spot it, When to Seek Care and Importance of Vaccination

As the Measles outbreak continues to grow in Florida, Francesca Torriani, MD, infectious disease specialist with UC San Diego Health is available to discuss symptoms to look out for, when to seek medical care, and the importance of vaccination. Biography…

Infectious Disease Expert Available: Flu Season, COVID-19 Variant and other Respiratory Viruses

In the United States, flu season usually occurs in the fall and winter, and while influenza viruses spread year-round, most of the time flu activity peaks between December and February. The overall impact of the flu varies from season to…

MSU expert: What to know about flu, RSV, new COVID-19 variant and new vaccine

The new COVID-19 EG.5 variant is responsible for around 22% of current cases. The World Health Organization has classified it as a “variant of interest,” meaning countries should monitor it more closely than other strains — and cases have only increased in the past few weeks. Peter Gulick is an expert on infectious diseases, and he provides insight on what this new variant could mean and what you should know.

Tips To Treat Nasal Stuffiness and Head Congestion

David Winter, MD, at Baylor Scott & White Health, answers the most common patient questions and reacts to the latest medical research. How do we treat symptoms of the common cold? (SOT@ :14, TRT :41) What’s the concern about the…

Getting vaccines for flu, RSV, pneumonia and COVID.

David Winter, MD, at Baylor Scott & White Health, answers the most common patient questions and reacts to the latest medical research. With flu season approaching, who should get a flu shot and when? (SOT@ :14, TRT :24) RSV cases…

Study Reveals Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19 Faced Nearly Twice the Rates of Death After Discharge As Patients with Flu

Researchers demonstrate that among individuals who were admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 and were discharged alive, the risk of post-discharge death was nearly twice that observed in those who were discharged alive from an influenza-related hospital admission.

UC Irvine, UCLA researchers identify new therapeutic approach to prevent ARDS

A novel peptide designed by University of California, Irvine researchers has been found to suppress the damaging lung inflammation seen in acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS. Their study, which appears in iScience, describes the first specific treatment designed to prevent the deadly disease, which can appear in patients with severe lung injury from infections with bacteria and viruses, like pneumonia, flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and COVID-19.

When battling multiple infections, infants and toddlers at higher risk of severe outcomes, study suggests

Results of the 18-month study, published in Lancet Regional Health – Americas and led by Amit Bahl, M.D., M.P.H., emergency medicine with Corewell Health East, formerly Beaumont Health, showed that while omicron cases had the highest hospital admission rates among children ages 0 to 17, serious, even deadly, cases of illness were less likely during omicron than during the delta and alpha variants. In fact, the odds of severe disease were 65% lower during omicron compared to alpha.

Johns Hopkins Experts Available for Interviews on This Year’s Flu Virus and Vaccine

The annual influenza (flu) season — which typically lasts from October to April in the United States — is upon us. Johns Hopkins Medicine experts will be available throughout the 2022–23 season for interviews about this year’s flu virus and flu vaccine, as well as other respiratory illnesses, such as COVID-19 and monkeypox.

Needs and Challenges for COVID-19 Boosters and Other Vaccines in the U.S.

FAU researchers and collaborators provide the most updated guidance to health care providers and urge how widespread vaccination with these boosters can now avoid the specter of future and more lethal variants becoming a reality.

UCLA Fielding School of Public Health-led research demonstrates the importance of influenza vaccination globally

An international team of researchers has demonstrated that among patients hospitalized for influenza, those who were vaccinated had less severe infections, including reducing the odds for children requiring admittance to an intensive care unit by almost half.

Houston Methodist seeing December flu season peak numbers now

Texas already has a moderately high rate of flu cases in September. This doesn’t look good for flu season, which was uncharacteristically low last year because of masks and people isolating. Houston Methodist experts are encouraging the community to get the flu shot early. Experts say cases aren’t usually seen this high until December, which is when the season usually peaks.

Can I Get the Flu From Touching Surfaces? Rutgers Researcher Says No.

In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the coronavirus was everywhere – stuck to our cellphone screens, smeared on our mail, dangling from doorknobs, even clinging to our cereal boxes. Except that it wasn’t.

Despite public health guidance suggesting surfaces be disinfected to stop the spread of COVID-19, the virus wasn’t significantly transmitted through inanimate surfaces and objects, what microbiologists call “fomites.” As with all respiratory viruses – from the flu to the common cold – transmission was and remains almost exclusively airborne.

Emanuel Goldman, a professor of microbiology at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, was among the first scientists to challenge conventional wisdom by warning that hygiene theater – overzealous disinfection of surfaces – had “become counterproductive” for public health.

Cleveland Clinic Researchers Discover New Signal for Triggering Human Immune Response

Researchers from Cleveland Clinic’s Florida Research and Innovation Center (FRIC) found that disruption of a cellular structure, known as the actin cytoskeleton, is a “priming signal” for the body to respond to a virus. These findings, published in Cell this week, potentially lay the groundwork for development of new anti-viral vaccines and treatments.

Flu Season Returns: How to Stay Safe

While social distancing and wearing masks kept last year’s flu season at an all-time low, experts expect flu cases will soar this year as students return to school and employees go back to the office and are urging people to get their flu vaccine to prevent the nation’s health care system from being overwhelmed by influenza and COVID-19.
David Cennimo, an infectious disease expert at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, discusses what you should do to protect yourself during the upcoming flu season.

ACI, CDC Launch Redesigned “Healthy Schools, Healthy People” Website

The American Cleaning Institute (ACI) launched a new website for the Healthy Schools, Healthy People initiative, a joint effort of ACI and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to promote hand hygiene and cleaning practices as a means to prevent the spread of infectious disease in schools and reduce illness-related absenteeism.

Rutgers Engineers Developing Rapid Breathalyzer Test for COVID-19

New Brunswick, N.J. (April 30, 2021) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick engineering professors Edward P. DeMauro, German Drazer, Hao Lin and Mehdi Javanmard are available for interviews on their work to develop a new type of fast-acting COVID-19 sensor that detects the presence…

UGA to establish national NIH-funded center to fight flu

The National Institutes of Health has awarded the University of Georgia a contract to establish the Center for Influenza Disease and Emergence Research (CIDER). The contract will provide $1 million in first-year funding and is expected to be supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of NIH, for seven years and up to approximately $92 million.

Houston Methodist expert notes COVID-19 precautions lead to historic drop in flu cases

A silver lining is emerging amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Influenza numbers are way down – 98 percent down, according to the CDC. Locally, during flu season last year, Houston Methodist’s system of eight hospitals saw 250 to 450 flu cases per week. This year the hospital system has seen only 2 to 5 flu cases per week so far. The numbers tell a striking story. Handwashing, masking and social distancing work.