Knowing if you have COVID or the flu can affect when you get vaccinated, need a particular antiviral, or if you need to work from home. But these combination tests can be expensive.
A new generation of vaccines and boosters against SARS-CoV-2 may take a page from the anti-influenza playbook, with shots periodically tailored to target the most commonly circulating virus strains.
You need a new shot every year because current flu vaccines provide limited and temporary protection. But researchers’ new strategy could mean a one-and-done influenza vaccine is on the way.
The 2018-2019 flu season was less deadly than the last. But the pattern of infection was unusual, thanks to the various strains circulating and the way flu shots work over time.
No one then knew a virus caused the 1918 flu pandemic, much less that animals can be a reservoir for human illnesses. Now virus ecology research and surveillance are key for public health efforts.
Flu virus mutates so quickly that one year’s vaccine won’t work on the next year’s common strains. But rational design – a new way to create vaccines – might pave the way for more lasting solutions.
This antivirus software protects health, not computers. Researchers are beginning to combat deadly infections using computer-generated antiviral proteins – a valuable tool to fight a future pandemic.
Flu virus mutates so quickly that one year’s vaccine won’t work on the next year’s common strains. But a new way to create vaccines, called ‘rational design,’ might pave the way for more lasting solutions.
Public health experts enlist the molecular biology tools that create genetically modified organisms – as well as the GMOs themselves – in the fight against emerging infectious diseases.
Antibiotics can prevent serious harm and stop infections becoming fatal. But they won’t kill common cold and flu viruses, and careless overprescribing by doctors can do more harm than good.
Viruses cause all kinds of infections from relatively mild cases of the flu to deadly outbreaks of Ebola. Clearly, not all viruses are equal and one of these differences is when you can infect others.
On December 3, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Health Alert Network advisory indicating a possible strain mismatch in this year’s vaccine. After the usual brief flurry…
Ginseng, the root of the plant Panax ginseng, is one of the most commonly used herbal medicines and is often sold as an over-the-counter remedy for fatigue. Although it has been used by humans for thousands…
Influenza viruses rapidly evolve in shape, making it hard to develop protective vaccines against them. Despite a great deal of study, scientists have been at a loss to forecast their evolution in any detail…
Associate Member, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Affiliate Associate Professor of Genome Sciences and Microbiology, University of Washington