Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

The Pancreatic Cancer Collective awards additional funding of $16 million for new therapies

The Pancreatic Cancer Collective, the strategic partnership of Lustgarten Foundation and Stand Up To Cancer, has awarded additional funding of up to $16 million to four teams of top researchers as part of its "New Therapies Challenge Grants," the American Association for Cancer Research, Scientific Partner of SU2C, announced today.

5 Mar 2020

Active censoring of coronavirus information 'enabled' by China for months

In keeping with China's often repressive policy towards news outlets and the dissemination of news and views that it doesn't want to be in the public domain, it is becoming apparent that Chinese social media WeChat and live-streaming app YY have long been editing what they display about the novel coronavirus illness.

5 Mar 2020

Best practices shown to protect healthcare workers from COVID-19

In a new study published on March 5th, 2020, in the journal Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, researchers claim that the meticulous application of best practices for infection control does protect healthcare workers from the COVID-19 illness.

5 Mar 2020

Coronavirus and currency notes – the connection

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended people to avoid using currency notes to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus or the novel coronavirus that has caused a global panic infecting over ninety-thousand individuals and killing over 3,000 up until now.

5 Mar 2020

Tuberculosis bacteria facilitate their spread by producing a molecule that triggers cough

The bacteria that cause the deadly lung disease tuberculosis appear to facilitate their own spread by producing a molecule that triggers cough, a new study led by UTSW researchers shows.

5 Mar 2020

During a pandemic, states’ patchwork of crisis plans could mean uneven care

A possible coronavirus pandemic could overwhelm the nation's hospitals and force doctors into difficult decisions about how to allocate limited resources. Yet, experts say, only a handful of states have done the work necessary to prepare for such worst-case scenarios.

5 Mar 2020

New coronavirus app combined with machine intelligence to enable at-home risk assessment

A coronavirus app coupled with machine intelligence will soon enable an individual to get an at-home risk assessment based on how they feel and where they've been in about a minute, and direct those deemed at risk to the nearest definitive testing facility, investigators say.

5 Mar 2020

Italy shuts down schools, universities amid surge in coronavirus cases

Italy will shut down schools and universities in response to the sharp increase in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases. The Italian government has ordered the nationwide cancellation of education classes until Mar. 15, as the country grapples to contain the worst outbreak that has hit Europe, claiming 107 lives and infecting more than 3,000 people.

5 Mar 2020

Respiratory antivirals and risk to breastfeeding women

Little data is available about the ability of antiviral drugs used to treat COVID-19, coronavirus, to enter breastmilk, let alone the potential adverse effects on breastfeeding infants.

4 Mar 2020

Obesity could increase severity of influenza study shows

A new study has revealed that those who are obese or overweight tend to get more severe bouts of influenza than those who are a healthy weight. The reason behind this could be the altered immune system of those who are obese. The study outlining this finding is published in the latest issue of the journal mBio from the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). The study was titled, "Obesity-Related Microenvironment Promotes Emergence of Virulent Influenza Virus Strains."

3 Mar 2020

Coronavirus may threaten 70 percent of human population says epidemiologist

The novel coronavirus COVID-19 is rapidly spreading around the globe, infecting more than 90,000 and killing more than 3,000 people. Now, an epidemiologist says it may eventually threaten about 70 percent of the total population.

3 Mar 2020

Research opens up new prospects for prevention and treatment of bacterial pneumonia

Researchers from the Lille Centre for Infection and Immunity, INRAE and from Brazilian (Belo Horizonte), Scottish (Glasgow) and Danish (Copenhagen) laboratories have shown for the first time in mice that perturbation of the gut microbiota caused by the influenza virus favors secondary bacterial superinfection.

3 Mar 2020

SFU researchers help discover potential new drug to kill superbugs

Researchers in Simon Fraser University's Brinkman Laboratory are collaborating with U.S. researchers to test a new drug that can kill a wide range of superbugs - including some bacteria now resistant to all common antibiotics.

3 Mar 2020

Analysis: One sure thing about COVID-19: No telling how many people have it

It has been nearly three months since the first cases of a new coronavirus pneumonia appeared in Wuhan, China, and it is now a global outbreak. And yet, despite nearly 90,000 infections worldwide (most of them in China), the world still doesn't have a clear picture of some basic information about this outbreak.

3 Mar 2020

Updated USPSTF recommendations on hepatitis C screening

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) now recommends the hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection screening for adults in the age group 18 to 79 years. This update comes against the background of increasing HCV over the last ten years, primarily due to higher injection drug use, and closer monitoring. The recommendation ensures that this screening will be covered by insurance as well without cost-sharing.

2 Mar 2020

New direct-acting antiviral therapies effectively target Hepatitis C virus

New direct-acting antiviral therapies are highly effective at eliminating the Hepatitis C virus infection, according to a systematic evidence review by researchers at Oregon Health & Science University.

2 Mar 2020

The changing face of the COVID-19 epidemic

The SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) virus, which hit China with the disease now named COVID-19 in December 2019 and has since spread to over 70 countries, has caused over 90,000 cases, and 3,117 fatalities, with 95% or more of both being in China.

2 Mar 2020

Australia's first coronavirus death puts country on alert

The rapid spread of the coronavirus outside China has intensified as the total number of infections globally has topped 90,000, and the number of deaths reached more than 3,000. The sudden surge of cases in Italy, Iran, and South Korea have left health officials concerned about the magnitude of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak.

2 Mar 2020

UTSA scientists discover link between a person's culture and sickness sensations

The physical and mental sensations we associate with feeling sick are a natural biological response to inflammation within the body.

2 Mar 2020

In an exchange about coronavirus, homeland security chief gets flu mortality rate wrong

During a Senate appropriations Feb. 25 subcommittee hearing, Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of Homeland Security, said the U.S. flu mortality rate was about the same as the current estimated global mortality rate of the coronavirus outbreak.

2 Mar 2020