Viruses, Infections & Disease, features and articles | Educational Science

Dec 1, 2023

Kids under 5 with HIV are dying at high rates. Here's why.

Among people with HIV, young children are the likeliest to die while receiving treatment. This is likely because many children under 5 already have severely weakened immune systems by the time they're diagnosed with HIV, if they are ever diagnosed, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity...

Feb 25, 2024

Teens use HIV prevention meds way more if they get these simple interventions

Teens and young adults often don't use HIV-prevention medications known as PrEP, even when they could benefit from these drugs. But a few simple strategies, including telehealth coaching appointments and automated text messages, can dramatically boost usage in this group, a new study finds. The nearly 900 young people in...

Apr 29, 2022

H5N1 bird flu strain strikes 1st person in US

An inmate of a Colorado state prison has become the first person in the U.S. to test positive for a strain of H5N1 bird flu that's currently spreading in birds around the world. The man, a prisoner at a state correctional facility in Delta County in western Colorado, tested positive...

Jul 15, 2022

1918 flu mutated to become deadlier in later waves, century-old lungs reveal

The influenza virus that caused the 1918 pandemic mutated into variants, much like the novel coronavirus has done in the current pandemic, century-old virus samples reveal. The discovery could help explain why later waves of the 1918 flu pandemic were worse than the first. And while the results aren't directly...

Aug 1, 2022

Could we ever eradicate the flu?

For many people, catching the flu might not seem like that big of a deal — you might feel crummy, miss a few days of work or school, and then return to daily life. But this common illness causes tens of thousands of hospitalizations and deaths each year: Between 2010...

Aug 2, 2022

1918 influenza: The deadliest pandemic in history

In 1918, a strain of influenza known as Spanish flu caused a global pandemic, spreading rapidly and killing indiscriminately. Young, old, sick and otherwise-healthy people all became infected, and at least 10% of patients died. Estimates vary on the exact number of deaths caused by the disease, but it is...

Sep 22, 2022

Flu shot facts and side effects

The seasonal flu shot is a yearly vaccine administered to protect against the flu, or influenza. In the United States, flu shots are recommended for everyone ages 6 months and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The flu can be a very serious illness, especially...

Sep 25, 2022

Which flu shot should I get?

It's the time of year for flu shots, but you might not know that there is more than one kind of flu vaccine. Indeed, half a dozen different types of flu shots are available for the 2022-2023 season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). So which...

Sep 29, 2022

When should I get my flu shot?

Fall has arrived, and with it the annual call to get your flu shot. But when's the best time to get the jab? Ideally, it’s better to get vaccinated before flu starts to circulate in your community; but exactly when flu season will start is unpredictable, according to the U.S....

Oct 14, 2022

The flu (influenza): Causes, symptoms and treatment

The flu (short for influenza) is a viral respiratory disease that affects the throat, nose and lungs. There are different types of influenza viruses, and they evolve from year to year. For most people, the flu is an inconvenience that subsides in a few days. For others, influenza can lead...

Nov 21, 2022

Having trouble finding a 20-pound turkey? Blame bird flu.

If you're looking for a large turkey for your Thanksgiving table this year, you may be out of luck. Devastating outbreaks of bird flu have hit farms in 46 states since February, limiting the nation's supply of bigger birds. Although there's been a recent downturn in the rate of outbreaks...

Mar 6, 2024

A branch of the flu family tree has died and won't be included in future US vaccines

A type of flu virus that used to sicken people every year hasn't been spotted anywhere on Earth since March 2020. As such, experts have advised that the apparently extinct viruses be removed from next year's flu vaccines. The now-extinct viruses were a branch of the influenza B family tree...

Aug 1, 2017

Ebola May Linger in Men's Semen for More Than 2 Years

Ebola may linger in men's semen for more than two years, a new study suggests. What's more, at least one man who survived Ebola and then tested negative for the presence of the virus in his semen later tested positive, the new study found. The findings raise questions about how...

May 19, 2018

Here's How Health Officials Plan to Use the Ebola Vaccine in New African Outbreak

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is spreading, but this time around, there's a vaccine. New cases of the notorious virus — which killed more than 11,000 people in the 2014 outbreak in West Africa — were first documented in early April in the DRC's rural...

May 23, 2018

How Bats Could Help Scientists Stop Ebola Outbreaks Before They Start

The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has spread to at least 58 people, and has killed nearly half of those individuals, according to an update today (May 23) from the World Health Organization (WHO). This is the nation's ninth Ebola outbreak since 1976, when the deadly...