The latest in health news: Good news for premature births in the U.S., a fracking ban in the birthplace of fracking, and another reminder to get your flu shot!
influenza
The flu can be deadly for seniors. It sends over 200,000 older adults to the hospital each year, and results in thousands of deaths. Well, now we have some numbers regarding how much more effective the Fluzone High-
Ebola has come to New York City and Americans continue to worry about the possibility of an Ebola epidemic in the United States, apparently even going so far as to buy sham Ebola cures online. However, two New York Times articles argue that the possibility of an Ebola epidemic in the US is still highly unlikely.
Flu season is here, and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone age 6 months and older receive the flu vaccination every year, with few exceptions. However, even though influenza and pneumonia ranked eighth in the top 10 causes of death in the US in 2011, some people still choose to forgo the vaccine due to fear
Influenza (the flu) is a systemic viral infection which usually wreaks most of its havoc upon the respiratory system. While most cases are not life-threatening (although it can be very uncomfortable and cost a week s work or loss of school),
The antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Relenza are often used for the treatment of the flu in children and adults. Although past research has suggested that these drugs could reduce hospital admissions and
We ve said it many times in the past, and we ll say it again vaccines are a true public health miracle, banishing diseases from diphtheria to polio, which have killed hundreds of thousands in global epidemics.
A recent report in the journal The Lancet Respiratory Medicine provides some surprising information about who might spread influenza.
In today s Probably Obvious entry, a group from McMaster University in Ontario tells you something that you probably already know, but still ignore.
The group, led by David Earn, Ph.D., a professor of infectious disease and mathematics, reports that when you are sick with a fever from a cold or flu and take medications that lower the fever and make you feel better, you will go to work too soon and infect others.
A new high-dose vaccine against the flu shows evidence of significantly enhanced efficacy for older people. If the CDC vaccine committee agrees, it will become part of the routine program for seniors, and many lives may be saved.
Several societies concerned with countering the spread of infectious diseases issued a call for mandatory immunization of all healthcare workers. They outlined their reasons, but those are quite obvious and this mandate is long overdue, as we here at ACSH have been saying for years.
Flu vaccine still under-utilized, safe, and somewhat effective. CDC estimates millions of serious illnesses have been averted by the shot (and thousands of deaths). Pregnant women remain fearful, but they and their newborns pay the price if their physicians are negligent in not urging them to get vaccinated.