Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Seattle nurses scrounge for masks to stay safe on pandemic’s front lines

As the caseload of patients with the new coronavirus grows, masks and other personal protective equipment are in short supply — and nurses in Washington state are resorting to workarounds to try to stay safe.

23 Mar 2020

CDC coronavirus testing decision likely to haunt nation for months to come

As the novel coronavirus snaked its way across the globe, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in early February distributed 200 test kits it had produced to more than 100 public health labs run by states and counties nationwide.

23 Mar 2020

University of Queensland race to accelerate COVID-19 vaccine research

A funding injection of up to $17 million for vital University of Queensland research could help cut the timeline for an effective vaccine for COVID-19 by six months.

22 Mar 2020

New data shows Wuhan COVID-19 fatality rate 1.4 percent, lower than other countries

It is now abundantly clear that COVID-19 is not "just the flu" as Italy grapples to contain the virus. The country has taken surpassed the death toll of China since it recorded 5,476 deaths with a fatality rate of 8.3 percent. China has first shown a fatality rate of 2 to 3.4 percent, but a new study shows that the rate is lower than previously known.

22 Mar 2020

Coronavirus remains for several hours to days on surfaces and in aerosols, study reveals

The virus that causes COVID-19 remains for several hours to days on surfaces and in aerosols, a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found.

22 Mar 2020

DFG underlines the need for long-term, knowledge-driven basic research

In view of the coronavirus pandemic, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft has underlined the need for long-term, knowledge-driven basic research.

21 Mar 2020

Some hospitals continue with elective surgeries despite COVID-19 crisis

In the same week that physicians at the University of California-San Francisco medical center were wiping down and reusing protective equipment like masks and gowns to conserve resources amid a surge of COVID-19 patients, 90 miles away teams of doctors at UC Davis Medical Center were fully suited up performing breast augmentations, hip replacements and other elective procedures that likely could have been postponed.

21 Mar 2020

World’s fastest supercomputer identifies chemicals with potential to stop COVID-19

What makes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) global pandemic different from the Spanish flu in 1918? In 1918, transportation, technology, and science were in their infancy, with the medical field not capable of fighting outbreaks. Technology has come a long way, within days, scientists have already identified the type of virus spreading in China, and three months after, vaccine trials have started.

20 Mar 2020

Public health leadership needed to direct COVID-19 response and communications

In the United States today, healthcare providers seem appropriately confused about present and future issues concerning coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

20 Mar 2020

Researchers highlight urgent need for public health leadership during COVID-19 pandemic

For decades, public health officials have directed the containment of emerging pandemics - perhaps most notably - the worldwide eradication of smallpox starting in the early to mid-1960s.

19 Mar 2020

Researchers invent portable AI device for flu and pandemic forecasting

University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers have invented a portable surveillance device powered by machine learning - called FluSense - which can detect coughing and crowd size in real time, then analyze the data to directly monitor flu-like illnesses and influenza trends.

19 Mar 2020

Pets, the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 disease

Can dogs and other pets play a role in the transmission of the novel coronavirus? The question has surfaced after a Pomeranian in Hong Kong tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 or the novel coronavirus last week.

19 Mar 2020

Lopinavir and ritonavir drug combo tested in severe COVID-19

Researchers from China and the United Kingdom have collaborated to conduct a clinical trial looking at the efficacy of a combination of two anti-HIV drugs lopinavir and ritonavir to combat severe cases of COVID-19. Their study titled, “A Trial of Lopinavir–Ritonavir in Adults Hospitalized with Severe COVID-19,” was published in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

19 Mar 2020

Coronavirus can stay in the air for hours and surfaces for days – how to disinfect?

As COVID-19 (coronavirus) spreads across the globe, scientists have found the virus can persist in the air for hours and on surfaces for days.

19 Mar 2020

Some children may become seriously ill with coronavirus, experts warn

Evidence shows that coronavirus disease (COVID-19) most often affects older adults, who are 60 years old or more, and those with underlying medical conditions. But a new study has shown that several children in China had developed severe or critical conditions, with one child dying from COVID-19.

19 Mar 2020