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News: May 28, 2012
Fewer Stillbirths Among Pregnant Women Vaccinated Against Flu
FRIDAY, May 25 (HealthDay News) -- Pregnant women who received a flu shot to protect them against the H1N1 swine flu virus had a significantly reduced risk of stillbirth, preterm birth and of having a baby small for gestational age, according to a...
Once-Banned Bird Flu Study Suggests Pandemic Threat Is Real
WEDNESDAY, May 2 (HealthDay News) -- Data in a formerly banned study detailing how the H5N1 avian (bird) flu virus can morph -- with the possibility that it could spread from person to person and cause a global pandemic -- may help nations prepare...
U.S. Gives Green Light to Publish Controversial Bird Flu Research
FRIDAY, April 20 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. government is giving the go-ahead for publication of two controversial studies into the H5N1 avian (bird) flu virus, a top federal health official announced Friday. The research, led by two scientists ...
U.S. Advisers Say It's Now Safeto Publish Bird Flu Studies
SATURDAY, March 31 (HealthDay News) -- Research on a mutated, more contagious form of the bird flu virus can be published in full, U.S. government biosecurity advisers said Friday, despite initial concerns that bioterrorists could use the informat...
U.S. Advisers Say It's Now Safe to Publish Bird Flu Studies
SATURDAY, March 31 (HealthDay News) -- Research on a mutated, more contagious form of the bird flu virus can be published in full, U.S. government biosecurity advisers said Friday, despite initial concerns that bioterrorists could use the informat...
Certain Beliefs Motivate Health Care Workers to Get Flu Shots
THURSDAY, March 8 (HealthDay News) -- The belief that a seasonal flu shot is effective is far more likely to convince health care workers to get vaccinated than reminding them it will help safeguard patients, a new study suggests. In many develope...
New Flu Discovered in Guatemalan Fruit Bats
TUESDAY, Feb. 28 (HealthDay News) -- A new influenza A virus has been discovered in Guatemalan fruit bats, according to scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although the bat flu does not currently pose a threat to hum...
Flu Season Off to a Very Late Start: CDC
THURSDAY, Feb. 23 (HealthDay News) -- It took a long time to get started, but this winter's flu season is finally here, say experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They report that flu activity picked up in the past couple ...
'Bird' Flu May Be More Common in Humans, But Less Deadly
THURSDAY, Feb. 23 (HealthDay News) -- The avian flu, which killed almost 60 percent of those known to be infected, actually struck many more people worldwide but didn't make them very sick, a new analysis finds. The actual fatality rate of the H5N...
Flu Shots for Pregnant Moms May Protect Babies
TUESDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Giving flu shots to pregnant women seems to reduce their risk of having a baby that is small for its gestational age, a new study has found. Babies who are small for their gestational age have an increased risk...
Bird Flu Studies Can Be Published After All: WHO
SATURDAY, Feb. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Research on a mutated, more contagious form of the bird flu virus can be published in full, the World Health Organization announced Friday, despite concerns that bioterrorists could use the information to star...
H1N1 'Swine' Flu Makes a Comeback in Mexico
FRIDAY, Feb. 10 (HealthDay News) -- It was just about three years ago that a strange new strain of flu first appeared in Mexico, then spread across the border to the United States and eventually much of the globe. The H1N1 "swine" flu strain didn'...
U.S. Advisers Explain Request to Censor Bird Flu Research
TUESDAY, Jan. 31 (HealthDay News) -- Concerns that research into a genetically mutated form of bird flu could escape from labs or fall into the hands of bioterrorists led U.S. scientific advisers to ask two prominent journals to withhold key detai...
How Did Generation X Respond to the H1N1 'Swine' Flu Epidemic?
TUESDAY, Jan. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Only about one in five American adults aged 36 to 39 got a flu shot during the H1N1 swine flu epidemic of 2009-2010, even though about 65 percent were at least moderately concerned about the disease and nearly ...
Researchers Agree to Postpone Bird Flu Research
FRIDAY, Jan. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists agreed Friday to a 60-day moratorium on research into a modified avian flu virus that has been demonstrated to be more transmissible among mammals. Although the investigators believe their research ha...
Flu Season Off to Slow Start, So Far
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Could this be the flu season that wasn't? After the H1N1-linked drama of prior years, the low number of cases of influenza currently circulating in the United States is reassuring, experts said.
Internet Flu Searches May Warn of Outbreaks
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Keeping an eye on Internet search traffic about the flu can provide hospital emergency departments with an early warning system about potential surges in seasonal flu cases, a new study suggests. This approac...
Flu Prevention Critical for Those With Neurologic Conditions, CDC Says
THURSDAY, Jan. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Children and young adults with neurological and neurodevelopmental conditions are at high risk for complications from the flu and should receive flu vaccinations, say health officials who investigated a flu out...
Many Jails Got No Flu Shots During H1N1 Outbreak: CDC
THURSDAY, Jan. 5 (HealthDay News) -- More than half of U.S. jails didn't receive any vaccine to protect inmates during the 2009-10 outbreak of H1N1 swine flu, a new study says. Jail and prison inmates are at increased risk for exposure to infectio...
How to Stay Flu-Free for the Holidays
THURSDAY, Dec. 1 (HealthDay News) -- The overlap of the cold and flu season with the holiday season can make it a challenge to stay healthy as you go to parties and get together with family and friends. Getting a flu shot is important, but other p...
School Hygiene Program Reduced Flu Cases
MONDAY, Nov. 21 (HealthDay News) -- A hand hygiene and cough etiquette program for elementary school children reduced cases of flu and the number of absences, a new study says. The study included five Pittsburgh schools that received the training ...
Flu Hits 90 Million Children Under 5 Each Year
FRIDAY, Nov. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Although it can be prevented with a vaccine, roughly 90 million children worlwide who are younger than 5 get the flu each year, resulting in about 1 million hospital admissions, a new study indicates. Published ...
Vaccine Cut Flu Strain Linked to Meningitis, Pneumonia
FRIDAY, Nov. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Vaccination has greatly reduced the incidence of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) among young children in the United States over the past 20 years, a new study finds. That strain of flu was once the most comm...
Prevention Is Key for Fall Asthma Flare-Ups in Kids
SUNDAY, Oct. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Children with asthma are at greater risk for flare-ups in the fall because of airborne ragweed and mold spores, as well as the flu and other seasonal infections, researchers warn. Such flare-ups are marked by in...
Flu Vaccine Isn't Foolproof
TUESDAY, Oct. 25 (HealthDay News) -- The most widely used flu vaccine in the United States is only about 60 percent effective in healthy adults, new research indicates. That vaccine is the trivalent inactivated vaccine (TIV), which accounts for ab...
Obesity May Hinder Flu Shot's Effectiveness
TUESDAY, Oct. 25 (HealthDay News) -- The various health risks associated with being overweight or obese are well known, but a new study now suggests that this extra weight may also make your annual flu shot less effective. What's more, obese and o...
Flu Shots for Pregnant Women Also Protect Newborns
THURSDAY, Oct. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Getting a seasonal flu vaccination while pregnant protects newborns from the flu for months after birth and won't cause a miscarriage. So say studies scheduled to be presented Thursday at the annual meeting of...
Get Your Flu Shot Now, CDC Urges
FRIDAY, Oct. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Flu activity levels in the United States are currently low, making it the ideal time to get a flu shot, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday. In its first "FluView" report for the ...
Cold, Flu Season Poses Risks for Kids With Asthma
SATURDAY, Oct. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Symptoms of asthma can be worsened by a cold or the flu, creating a potentially dangerous situation for children, according to experts at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. In fact, 30 percent of...
Oxygenating Blood of Hospitalized H1N1 Flu Patients Saved Lives: Study
THURSDAY, Oct. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Technology that directly oxygenates the blood reduced the risk of death in patients who were severely sickened by the H1N1 flu virus, a new British study shows. The researchers cautioned that their study had li...
Pandemic Flu of 1918 Circulated Months Before Deaths Peaked
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 28 (HealthDay News) -- The influenza virus that killed 50 million people worldwide in 1918 was circulating in the United States at least four months before the outbreak reached pandemic levels in the fall of that year, researchers...
CDC Urges Americans: Get Your Flu Shot
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 21 (HealthDay News) -- With plenty of influenza vaccine available, U.S. health officials urged Americans Wednesday to get a flu shot. Last year, some 130.9 million Americans -- about 43 percent of the population -- got a shot, whi...
U.S. Flu Shot Policy Shields More Kids Than Canada's Program, Study Finds
MONDAY, Sept. 19 (HealthDay News) -- American youngsters are much less likely to come down with the flu than their northern neighbors due to a public health policy in the United States that calls for vaccinating 2- to 4-year olds, according to a C...
Vaccinations Aren't Just for Kids
FRIDAY, Sept. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Public health experts often focus immunization awareness efforts toward protecting children, and with good reason: Facing a potentially bewildering schedule of vaccinations for their young ones, parents usually...
Fear Proves Prime Motivator for Vaccinations
FRIDAY, Sept. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Sometimes a little fear might be a good thing. To run an effective public vaccination program, you've got to make sure that adequate amounts of the vaccine are available and there are enough staff members to ad...
Flu Killed 115 Children Last Season: CDC
THURSDAY, Sept. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Children typically don't die from the flu or its complications. Still, U.S. health officials reported Thursday that 115 kids younger than 18 died from flu-related causes during the one-year period that ended ...
Pregnant Women Reminded to Get Flu Vaccine
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Pregnant women should get a flu shot to protect themselves and even their newborn from the flu, experts say. Pregnancy increases the risk of serious complications of flu, such as bacterial pneumonia and dehy...
Flu Diagnostic Kit Approved
FRIDAY, Sept. 2 (HealthDay News) -- A kit to diagnose seasonal influenza, bird flu and other forms of flu that affect people has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The CDC Human Influenza Virus Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Pane...
Two U.S. Children Contract New Strain of Swine Flu
FRIDAY, Sept. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating two recent cases of swine flu in which the new strain of flu passed directly from pigs to children. This strain of flu does not ap...
Last Year's Flu Shot Won't Protect Kids This Season
THURSDAY, Sept. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Most children need to get a seasonal flu vaccination this year, even if they got one last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics says. The 2011-12 flu vaccine protects against the same three flu strains as l...
Flu Shot Rates Low for Health Workers, Moms-to-Be: CDC
THURSDAY, Aug. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Flu vaccination levels among U.S. health care workers have risen in recent years but are still below the 2020 national health objectives, a new study says. Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control...
Kids Benefit From Flu Vaccine via Shot or Spray, Study Finds
THURSDAY, Aug. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Children younger than 3 years old receive roughly the same amount of protection from the flu vaccine regardless of which method (injection, nasal spray, or one of each) is used to give the two recommended dose...
More Kids Hospitalized for Flu, Skin Infections
TUESDAY, Aug. 16 (HealthDay News) -- There was a dramatic increase in the number of children's flu-related hospital stays in the United States between 2000 and 2009, a federal agency says. Over that time, flu rose from 65th to 10th in the ranking ...
Preparation Key When Kids With Asthma Go Back to School
MONDAY, July 25 (HealthDay News) -- As many kids with asthma get ready to head back to school this fall, the American Lung Association urged parents to prepare a detailed action plan to manage their child's condition and help ease their transition...
FDA Unveils Flu Vaccines for 2011-12 Season
MONDAY, July 18 (HealthDay News) -- Influenza may be far from most Americans' thoughts as much of the nation wilts under oppressive heat, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Monday that it's already preparing for the 2011-12 flu season....
Flu Vaccine for 2011-12 Season Approved
MONDAY, July 18 (HealthDay News) -- The 2011-12 influenza vaccine, containing the three strains predicted most common in the upcoming season, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Six manufacturers will be licensed to produce...
'Swine Flu' Shot May Be Cleared of Guillain-Barre Charges
WEDNESDAY, July 13 (HealthDay News) -- A new European study finds that the supercharged vaccines used to fight the H1N1 epidemic in 2009 may not have boosted the risk for a disease known as Guillain-Barre syndrome after all. Guillain-Barre is a ra...
Flu Shots for Pregnant Women Also Protect Newborns, Study Finds
WEDNESDAY, June 29 (HealthDay News) -- Giving flu shots to pregnant women also protects their newborns, researchers say. Flu vaccination is recommended for anyone older than 6 months of age. But it is not approved for children younger than 6 month...
Study Finds Two-Seat 'Hot Zone' for Flu Spread on Planes
WEDNESDAY, June 15 (HealthDay News) -- During the H1N1 flu pandemic of 2009, some people stopped flying out of fear of catching the virus while in the close quarters of an airplane cabin, but a new study shows that the "danger zone" for flu transm...
Tracking Swine Flu Virus in Pigs Reveals Mutations
THURSDAY, May 26 (HealthDay News) -- Changes in the swine flu virus over the past three decades can be traced, at least in part, to the transportation of live pigs, a new study reports. The finding stems from an analysis of viruses found in swine ...
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