Scientists have found that taking zinc tablets “may shorten the duration of a cold”, The Independent reported today.
For many years, laboratory research has suggested that zinc can stop cold viruses from multiplying, but it has not been clear whet…
Scientists have discovered a “gene flaw linked to serious flu risk”, according to BBC News. The broadcaster says the mutation controls a malformed protein, which makes cells more susceptible to viral infection.
This story is based on a series of e…
“We’ve had bird flu and swine flu – now scientists have found BAT FLU,” says the Daily Mail. The newspaper reports that the strain “could pose a risk to humans if it mingled with more common forms of flu”.
The Mail has got in a flap over the …
The CDC informs that it has received twelve reports of humans infected with swine flu – A(H3N2) virus. Reported cases have come in from West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maine, Iowa, and Indiana. Eleven of them were children. Half of all the cases had not b…
Social determinants, including the lack of paid sick leave, contributed to higher risk of exposure to the influenza A (H1N1) virus among Hispanics in the U.S. during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, according to a study led by Sandra Crouse Quinn, professor of …
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed three mildly ill children with viruses similar to the swine-origin influenza A (H3N2) viruses identified in three other states. These viruses contain the “matrix (M) gene segment” from the 20…
A new strain of killer flu “could spread to Britain within 24 hours”, the Daily Express has today claimed. The Daily Mail also covered the story, reporting that research had found that people were infected with both seasonal flu and swine flu, spar…
“Pregnant women were urged to get their annual flu jab yesterday as research showed they have a five times greater risk of a stillbirth if they are admitted to hospital with swine flu,” reported The Independent.
This news report is based on a stud…
A unique and innovative analysis of how social media can affect the spread of a disease has been designed and implemented by a scientist at Penn State University studying attitudes toward the H1N1 vaccine. Marcel Salathe, an assistant professor of biol…
According to an investigation in JAMA, individuals who developed respiratory failure after being infected with severe 2009 H1N1 influenza, and who received treatment with a system that adds oxygen to their blood, had a lower rate of dying in hospital c…
