Respiratory Virus News and Research

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Kennedy’s vaccine advisers sow doubts as scientists protest US pivot on shots

As fired and retired scientists rallied outside in the Atlanta heat, an advisory panel that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. handpicked to replace experts he'd fired earlier met inside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's headquarters to plan a more skeptical vaccine future.

27 Jun 2025

Simpler virus testing approach could reduce unnecessary PCR tests in high-risk settings

The COVID-19 pandemic yielded important advances in testing for respiratory viruses, but it also exposed important unmet needs in screening to prevent the spread of infections in high-risk settings.

24 Jun 2025

Monitoring airborne fungal spores predicts flu and COVID-19 surges

Monitoring fungal spores in the outdoor air can predict surges in flu and COVID-19 infections, especially during the fall, according to a new study.

20 Jun 2025

Nasal vaccine boosters can trigger strong immune defenses in the respiratory tract, study finds

Most vaccines — and boosters — are injected directly into muscle tissue, usually in the upper arm, to kickstart the body's immune system in the fight against disease.

13 May 2025

Baloxavir marboxil shows promise in reducing household flu spread

One dose of the antiviral baloxavir marboxil lowers the chance of transmitting the influenza virus to family members by about 30%, according to research in the New England Journal of Medicine.

24 Apr 2025

Study points to single respiratory virus as cause of Kawasaki disease

Research from Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago strongly suggests that Kawasaki disease is caused by a single respiratory virus that is yet to be identified.

27 Mar 2025

UC San Diego joins CDC in groundbreaking pandemic preparedness initiative

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has selected University of California San Diego as one of three partner institutions to establish a groundbreaking pandemic preparedness initiative, the Community and Household Acute Respiratory Illness Monitoring (CHARM) Network.

8 Jan 2025

Nationwide IV fluid shortage could change how hospitals manage patient hydration

Hospitals around the country are conserving critical intravenous fluid supplies to cope with a shortage that may last months. Some hospital administrators say they are changing how they think about IV fluid hydration altogether.

19 Nov 2024

Study shows RSV’s severe impact on US adults, urging more testing and vaccination

RSV hospitalizations in US adults reached high levels pre-vaccine, especially impacting those 75 and older, underscoring the need for awareness and prevention efforts.

14 Nov 2024

Early RSV vaccination in pregnancy provides best protection for newborns

Current guidelines recommend that pregnant people receive a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) - which typically causes mild, cold-like symptoms in most adults but can be deadly for infants - during weeks 32–36 of pregnancy.

11 Nov 2024

PANPOC technology aims to revolutionize virus detection

PANPOC is one of the two technologies that PAIR aims to deliver and implement by the end of this five-year project.

8 Oct 2024

Global experts gather in Brisbane for scientific meeting dedicated to influenza

More than 1,400 experts have visited Brisbane for the world's only scientific meeting dedicated to influenza.

4 Oct 2024

New insights into the link between respiratory infections and chronic lung diseases

A 3D reconstruction of a mouse lung four days after infection with fluorescent Sendai virus reveals widespread virus presence (red) and active replication (green).

3 Oct 2024

Antibiotic resistance threatens millions of lives worldwide

More than 39 million people around the world could die from antibiotic-resistant infections over the next 25 years, according to a study published in The Lancet.

18 Sep 2024

National survey reveals vaccine hesitancy ahead of flu and COVID-19 season

With flu season just around the corner and COVID-19 cases on the rise, a new nationwide survey from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center reveals hesitancy around vaccines this fall.

13 Sep 2024

Targeted RSV vaccination for older adults with health conditions found cost-effective

Targeting vaccination programs for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to older adults with underlying health conditions is a cost-effective way to reduce disease, according to a new modelling study https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.240452 in CMAJ.

9 Sep 2024

RSV vaccine reduces illness and hospitalizations in adults over 60

Vaccination against respiratory syncytial virus for adults over 60 is likely cost-effective by preventing illness, hospitalizations, lost quality of life and deaths, according to new research.

5 Sep 2024

As interest from families wanes, pediatricians scale back on covid shots

When pediatrician Eric Ball opened a refrigerator full of childhood vaccines, all the expected shots were there — DTaP, polio, pneumococcal vaccine — except one.

4 Sep 2024

Innovative nasal spray and vaccine for respiratory virus protection

A team of researchers, led by the University of Houston, has discovered two new ways of preventing and treating respiratory viruses.

6 Aug 2024

$Study shows wearable health sensors only prompt a fraction of at-home tests$

Study shows wearable health sensors only prompt a fraction of at-home tests

When seemingly healthy people receive an alert from a wearable sensor telling them they might have a respiratory virus - based on small changes in their unique heartrate, sleep and activity patterns - what do they do? According to a new study by Scripps Research scientists carried out at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, only a quarter of people follow up such an alert with an at-home viral test.

24 Jul 2024