Cold, Flu & Cough

What is the Common Cold?

The common cold, also known as rhinopharyngitis, is a type of respiratory tract infection caused by a virus.

Walking Pneumonia Versus Common Cold

Does the 'Stomach Flu' Vaccine Prevent Type I Diabetes?

Walking Pneumonia Versus Common Cold

Influenza Infection in Animals

Risk Factors and Walking Pneumonia Prevention

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Bird flu is bad for poultry and dairy cows. It’s not a dire threat for most of us — yet.

Headlines are flying after the Department of Agriculture confirmed that the H5N1 bird flu virus has infected dairy cows around the country.

3 May 2024

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Abortion access changing again in Florida and Arizona

The national abortion landscape was shaken again this week as Florida's six-week abortion ban took effect.

2 May 2024

New vaccine approach shows promise in targeting less variable region of influenza virus

Duke researchers have opened a new avenue in the attack against influenza viruses by creating a vaccine that encourages the immune system to target a portion of the virus surface that is less variable.

2 May 2024

Simple blood test could allow doctors to determine a person’s risk for stroke or cognitive decline

A simple blood test could allow doctors to determine whether a person may be at higher risk for stroke or cognitive decline during their lifetime, according to a new UCLA Health study.

2 May 2024

WHO overturns dogma on airborne disease spread. The CDC might not act on it.

The World Health Organization has issued a report that transforms how the world understands respiratory infections like covid-19, influenza, and measles.

1 May 2024

Avian flu crosses species, infecting cats and cattle in Texas and Kansas

A study in the CDC's Emerging Infectious Disease Journal reports the spread of H5N1 avian influenza among cats and dairy cattle in Texas and Kansas, showing systemic illness in cattle and significant fatalities in cats exposed to the virus through infected milk.

1 May 2024

Vaping poses unexpected risks to eye health, study finds

A study in the Journal of Clinical Medicine reveals that exposure to e-cigarette vapor can lead to both accidental and direct ocular injuries, including changes in tear film stability and potential ocular surface malignancies.

30 Apr 2024

Progression of subtle CT abnormalities in smokers predicts acute respiratory disease

Smokers who have small abnormalities on their CT scans that grow over time have a greater likelihood of experiencing acute respiratory disease events, according to a new study published today in Radiology, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America.

30 Apr 2024

Toxic gas adds to a long history of pollution in Southwest Memphis

For many years, Rose Sims had no idea what was going on inside a nondescript brick building on Florida Street a couple of miles from her modest one-story home on the southwestern side of town.

30 Apr 2024

Updated vaccine provides strong immune response against previous and emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants

New research using live SARS-CoV-2 virus reveals an updated vaccine provides a strong immune response against previous strains and emerging variants.

29 Apr 2024

Measles and rubella vaccine delivered via microarray patch shows promising results

The phase 1/2 randomized trial compared results from the measles and rubella vaccine delivered by a microarray patch, a small sticking plaster-like device with an array of microscopic projections that painlessly penetrate the skin and deliver the vaccine, or by conventional injection with a needle and syringe.

29 Apr 2024

Fentanyl inhalation linked to irreversible brain damage

Inhaling the synthetic opioid fentanyl may cause potentially irreversible brain damage (toxic leukoencephalopathy), warn doctors in the journal BMJ Case Reports, after treating a middle aged man found unresponsive in his hotel room after snorting the drug.

29 Apr 2024

Hospital toilets harbor multi-drug resistant "superbugs", study finds

Pathogenic bacteria and fungi, including multi-drug resistant "superbugs" have been found on the floors, ceilings, door handles and other surfaces of hospital toilets in the UK, with patient toilets the worst affected, the ESCMID Global Congress (formerly ECCMID) in Barcelona, Spain (27-30 April) will hear.

29 Apr 2024

Study reveals genetic divergence and drug resistance mechanisms in two critical superbugs

Infectious diseases caused by pathogenic strains of bacteria are a global cause of morbidity and mortality. Hospital-acquired infections caused by Klebsiella pneumonia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were found vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic.

29 Apr 2024

Study reveals brown fat's built-in mechanism and potential obesity treatment

Brown fat, also known as brown adipose tissue (BAT), is a type of fat in our bodies that's different from the white fat around our belly and thighs that we are more familiar with.

29 Apr 2024

Expert warns of the continuous dangers posed by polio and other enteroviruses

Consistently high vaccination rates and global health surveillance programs have helped eliminate poliomyelitis (polio) in almost all countries of the world, except Afghanistan and Pakistan.

28 Apr 2024

Study rethinks immune system strategies to boost vaccine effectiveness

A recent Cell journal review explores key immunological assumptions to enhance our understanding of vaccine design, autoimmune responses, and immune system pathology, aiming to refine intervention strategies and theoretical frameworks in immunology.

28 Apr 2024

The role of biological age in lung cancer treatment decision making for elderly patients

The average age for a lung cancer diagnosis is 70, according to the American Cancer Society. With age, it can be harder for a person's body to tolerate cancer treatments like surgery and chemotherapy.

26 Apr 2024

WHO and Government of France host high-level meeting to combat meningitis

Global leaders highlight the need to defeat meningitis – a leading cause of disability – at a high-level meeting co-hosted by the World Health Organization and Government of France, under the High Patronage of Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic.

26 Apr 2024

New study offers promising targets for universal influenza B vaccine

In a milestone study led by the Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute), researchers have identified fragments from influenza B viruses that the immune system consistently recognize, offering promising targets for a universal influenza B vaccine

26 Apr 2024