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

Jun 27, 2017

'Microneedle' Patch Promises Painless Flu Vaccine

In the study, which was a phase I clinical trial, the researchers looked at how a dissolvable microneedle patch that contained the flu vaccine stacked up against the traditional flu shot. The patch is about the size of a thumbprint and contains 100 needles that are 650 micrometers (or about...

Jun 27, 2017

Photos: How 'Microneedles' Can Deliver the Flu Vaccine

The microneedle patch (Image credit: Devin McAllister, Georgia Tech)Researchers in Georgia have developed a microneedle patch that can deliver the flu vaccine through a person's skin. In a new study, 70 percent of people who used the experimental patch in a Phase I clinical trial said they preferred it to...

Aug 23, 2017

How to Protect Yourself from Cold and Flu in the New Year

Live Science is bringing our readers a monthly series on personal health goals. We'll give you tips and tricks for reaching those goals, based on the advice we've gathered from the countless health experts we've interviewed. Each month, we'll focus on a different goal, and the goal for September is...

Sep 28, 2017

Less Than Half of Americans Got Their Flu Shots Last Year

Less than half of all Americans ages 6 months and up got their flu shots last year, leaving a majority of people unvaccinated against a potentially serious illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About 47 percent of Americans got a flu vaccine during the 2016-2017...

Nov 3, 2017

Lifelong Protection Against Flu? New Vaccine Shows Promise

A new type of flu vaccine that contains ancestral flu virus genes shows promise in providing broad protection against many different strains of the flu, according to an early study in animals. When researchers gave this new vaccine to mice, it protected up to 100 percent of the animals, meaning...

Nov 30, 2017

This Flu Season Could Be a Whopper, Officials Warn

U.S. health officials said they are concerned the upcoming flu season could be a bad one, based on reports from the Southern Hemisphere, where the flu season recently ended for the year. In Australia, for example, there were record-high numbers of laboratory-confirmed flu cases this year — more than 2.5...

Dec 8, 2017

Flu Season Is Already Off to a Bad Start

Flu season is underway in the United States, and a new report shows that flu activity is already higher than typical for this time of year. During the week that ended Nov. 25 (the most recent period for which data is available), three Southern states — Louisiana, Mississippi and South...

Dec 11, 2017

Is 'Man Flu' Real? Men Suffer More When Sick, Study Suggests

When a man complains of cold or flu symptoms, it may not be fair to dismiss his laments as simply a case of man flu. Men may really experience worse symptoms than women after catching a respiratory virus, a new review suggests. The review was published today (Dec. 11) in...

Dec 19, 2017

How Does the Flu Actually Kill People?

One Sunday in November 20-year-old Alani Murrieta of Phoenix began to feel sick and left work early. She had no preexisting medical conditions but her health declined at a frighteningly rapid pace, as detailed by her family and friends in local media and on BuzzFeed News. The next day she...

Jan 8, 2018

Why Is Flu Season So Bad This Year?

Flu season is off to an early — and severe — start, with rates of hospitalizations and deaths from flu higher than what's typical for this time of year. But why is the flu so bad this year? During the week that ended Dec. 30 (the most recent period for...

Jan 12, 2018

You Have the Flu. Should You Go to the Doctor, or Wait It Out?

When you have the flu, one choice looms large in front of your feverish eyes: Should you drag your aching body out in the cold to go to the doctor or hospital, or should you just wrap yourself in blankets, drink fluids and stay put? For sick people, there's no...

Jan 16, 2018

6-Year-Old Hallucinates After Taking Tamiflu: Why You Shouldn't Panic

A 6-year-old girl in Allen, Texas, experienced troubling symptoms — including hallucinations and what might have been an attempt to hurt herself — after taking the common flu medication Tamiflu, according to news reports. Tamiflu (generic name: oseltamivir) is an antiviral drug used to treat the flu. Antiviral drugs can...

Jan 18, 2018

How Do You Die from the Flu?

This year's flu season is off to a killer start — literally. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that rates of hospitalizations and deaths from the virus are higher than what's typically expected for this time of year. But how does a person die from the flu?...

Jan 18, 2018

Did Researchers Just Take a Big Step Toward a Universal Flu Vaccine?

With more than a dozen different strains of influenza circulating the world at any given time, flu season is a bit like a box of chocolates: you never know what you're going to get. That's one reason why you need a flu shot every year. Different flu strains are constantly...

Jan 19, 2018

Stand Back, Way Back: Flu Virus Can Be Spread Just by Breathing

Simply standing back when someone coughs or sneezes won't necessarily protect you from the flu — you also need to keep your distance when a sick person merely breathes. That's because the virus can be spread just by breathing, a new study confirms. In the study, the scientists found large...