Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

How does COVID-19 coronavirus compare to the 1918 Spanish flu?

The world has seen outbreaks, with some worst than others, but one thing is common, all these outbreaks result in loss of life and a global health crisis. One of the worst epidemics in the world was the 1918 Spanish flu. Now, the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak is being compared to the Spanish flu that ravaged the world more than a century ago.

9 Mar 2020

Surging health care worker quarantines raise concerns as coronavirus spreads

As the U.S. battles to limit the spread of the highly contagious new coronavirus, the number of health care workers ordered to self-quarantine because of potential exposure to an infected patient is rising at an exponential pace.

9 Mar 2020

Coronavirus spreads even without symptoms and how Hangzhou province contained virus spread

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is rapidly spreading across the globe, and containment measures have been implemented at many of the hotspots for the disease. Though isolation and quarantine measures are considered the best way to contain the virus, one new study suggests it might not be as effective as hoped.

9 Mar 2020

Study looks at lung injury and vaping THC and vitamin E acetate

The US has witnessed a spate of patients presenting with acute lung injury associated with e-cigarettes or vaping product use. A new study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine shows the pattern of the outbreak in California where recreational cannabis use is legal and which has among the maximum cases of the strange illness.

8 Mar 2020

Scientists may have found a way to prevent coronavirus spread

Just like any other virus, the coronavirus needs a host to survive. Viruses enter the cells of the human body to cause disease by attaching to a specific receptor site on the host cell membrane. To do this, they attach to proteins in the capsid through glycoproteins found in the envelope of the virus.

8 Mar 2020

Individual responsibility to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is equally vital as government action

How individuals respond to government advice on preventing the spread of COVID-19 will be at least as important, if not more important, than government action, according to a new commentary from researchers at the University of Oxford and Imperial College London in the UK, and Utrecht University and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands.

7 Mar 2020

Focusing on healthcare quality as a business strategy

Despite two decades of effort - targeting care processes, outcomes, and most recently the value of care - progress has been slow in closing the gap between quality and cost in the US healthcare system.

7 Mar 2020

TB bacteria produce fatty acid that triggers a pain-response cough to spread the disease

Tuberculosis is distinguished primarily by the persistent cough that serves to spread the disease. Stopping whatever triggers that cough could greatly reduce the transmission of the disease, which annually kills more than 1.3 million people worldwide.

7 Mar 2020

Pence leaves out key details about health coverage of coronavirus testing

Amid ongoing concern about the new coronavirus, Vice President Mike Pence sought to assure Americans that their health insurance will cover the tests needed for diagnosis.

6 Mar 2020

On front lines, first responders brace for coronavirus ― and their own protection

When first responders answered roughly 10 calls from a long-term care center in Kirkland, Washington, over the course of a week, they did not expect to become patients themselves.

6 Mar 2020

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