A Guide to Swine Flu
As swine influenza reaches the U.S., a guide to what you need to know and what happens next. Plus, a look at pandemics past
5 Ways to Protect Yourself (and Others) from Swine Flu
Swine flu has yet to escalate into a global pandemic, but here's what to do if it does
Can Swine Flu Be Blamed on Industrial Farming?
Some have linked the new strain of H1N1 to an industrial hog farm in Mexico, David Biello reports
Vaccine makers await critical swine flu samples; Swine flu won't be in seasonal flu vaccines
As the World Health Organization (WHO) today acknowledged the spreading swine influenza virus by moving the pandemic threat awareness level up one notch to 5, the U.S.
Why Should We Worry about Swine Flu?
A professor of public health who studies influenza explains what makes this strain of flu different and how it might be treated
What is swine flu? U.S. declares public health emergency
U.S. officials declared a public health emergency today over swine flu, now that 20 cases of the illness have been confirmed in the country, with 80 dead and 1,300 infected in Mexico.
WHO braces for the worst as more swine flu cases are confirmed
The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed swine flu cases in two more countries—the U.K. and New Zealand—bringing the total number of affected countries to at least six...
Swine flu outbreak prompts U.S. government preparations for pandemic
With the number of confirmed U.S. swine flu cases double the 20 it was yesterday, the government says that it is closely monitoring the swine flu outbreak and is preparing for further spread...
WHO hikes pandemic alert to phase 4 on swine flu fears
The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised the influenza pandemic alert level to phase 4, just two steps shy of a global pandemic alert, according to Keiji Fukuda, the WHO's assistant director-general for health security and environment...
Will Egypt's plans to kill pigs protect it from swine--sorry, H1N1 flu?
As swine flu fears sweep the world, governments everywhere are taking steps to prepare for a global pandemic, such as ramping up disease surveillance, reinforcing medicine stockpiles, and distributing infection control information to citizens...
WHO raises pandemic alert level from 4 to 5 as swine flu spreads
Concerned over the rapidly spreading swine flu, the World Health Organization (WHO) has upped the influenza pandemic alert to phase 5, just one step short of declaring a bona fide global pandemic...
Widespread Tamiflu resistance sparks new look at pandemic flu drug stockpile
We've known since January that most of the flu circulating this season is resistant to Tamiflu, an antiviral drug typically used against the infection.
The Search for a Universal Flu Vaccine: A Q&A with Walter Fiers
A vaccine that can eliminate seasonal flu shots and provide protection against pandemics? Walter Fiers discovered that targeting a particular protein segment on the influenza virus might just do the trick...
How to Prevent the Next Pandemic
An international network for monitoring the flow of viruses from animals to humans might help scientists head off global epidemics
How to Clip Bird Flu's Wings
The best way to beat bird flu and other zoonotic diseases is to keep humans and wildlife healthy
What's the difference between cold and flu?
The two winter respiratory illnesses may look alike, but pay attention to tell them apart
Researchers Make Human Flu Antibodies at Record Speed
Fast treatment manufactured from flu survivors' antibodies could pave the way to more effectively thwarting pandemics
Killer Resurrected
U.S. military researcher uncovers clues about 1918 pandemic flu virus
Worried about the flu? Get a mask
You can cut your risk of contracting the flu or other respiratory viruses by as much as 80 percent by wearing a mask over your nose and mouth, according to a new study.
Preparing for a Pandemic
One day a highly contagious and lethal strain of influenza will sweep across all humanity, claiming millions of lives. It may arrive in months or not for years--but the next pandemic is inevitable...
Google Flu Trends: Your own disease tracker
Want to know how bad the flu is in your state? Ask Google .
The all-knowing search engine has a new tool, Google Flu Trends, that estimates U.S.
1918 Flu Antibodies Alive and Well
Extremely elderly survivors of the 1918 flu pandemic still have active antibodies that recognize that virus. Karen Hopkin reports
Capturing a Killer Flu Virus
The deadliest flu strain in history has been resurrected. What can the 1918 virus reveal about why it killed millions and where more like it may be lurking?
Cooping Up Avian Flu
Buying time to arm for a pandemic is possible--maybe
First, pork invades Washington, then superbugs invade pork
Evidently, pork isn’t just a problem when it shows up in stimulus package bills or because pigs smell. It may also land you in the hospital.
That’s the message of a Nicholas Kristof column in today’s New York Times about the dawning realization that pigs around the world often harbor antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria...
Humidity Helps Fight Flu
In a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers found that high absolute humidity can help kill flu virus particles in a given environment. Adam Hinterthuer reports...
U.S. health officials: All school-age children should get flu shots
As flu season fast approaches, U.S. health officials are urging all children between the ages of six months and 18 years of age to get flu shots.
Could a mild flu pandemic prevent a more deadly one?
A mild first wave of flu pandemic could reduce deaths from a future outbreak of more severe infection, a new analysis suggests.
A review of the effects of the 1918 flu pandemic on American soldiers and British sailors and civilians found that people who were infected during the first, milder spring and summer wave had a 35 percent to 94 percent lower risk of catching the more severe strain than those who weren't infected earlier...
Canadian bacon: Pigs in Canada sick with swine flu
Last Friday, we reported on Egypt's recent attempt to curb transmission of the human H1N1 epidemic by butchering all 300,000 of its pigs. Experts we interviewed said there was no sound rationale for such a move, because pigs had never been infected with the new virus, which has sickened at least 1085 people in 21 countries – until now...
Swine flu kills child in Texas
A 22-month-old boy has died in Houston from swine flu as the outbreak continues to expand in the U.S. and abroad, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports today.
Preventing the swine flu spread: The search for a fast vaccine proves elusive
With swine flu infections now being reported in six different countries, and concern mounting for even more, researchers are looking for ways to keep the outbreak in check.
