Flu

A worker catches chickens at a market in Cambodia, where a girl recently died from avian influenza.

Bird Flu Causes the Death of an 11-Year-Old in Cambodia

A father and daughter both contracted avian influenza, the first cases in the country since 2014

Personnel bury pelicans that may have died from avian flu in Lima, Peru, on December 7, 2022. At least 585 seals and 55,000 birds have been found dead in Peru, likely due to avian flu.

As Bird Flu Spreads to Mammals, Health Officials Urge Caution

Transmission between minks has called attention to the potential risks to humans, though experts say not to panic

A grizzly bear in Glacier National Park in Montana

Three Grizzly Bears Tested Positive for Avian Flu in Montana

The current outbreak has led to the deaths of more than 52 million birds in the United States

Only a quarter of American adults have received their flu shot this year. 

U.S. Flu Hospitalizations Highest in a Decade

The CDC estimates that 120,000 people have been hospitalized since October

The highly contagious virus is airborne and can spread through contaminated surfaces like kennels and leashes.

Dogs Are Impacted by an Intense Flu Season, Too

A surge in canine influenza cases has likely resulted from changes in human behavior due to relaxed Covid-19 guidelines

The current outbreak has led to the first case of avian flu in humans in the United States.

More Than 52 Million Birds in the U.S. Are Dead Because of Avian Flu

Many domestic birds have been culled to contain the disease, which is also spreading in wild flocks

A bus being treated with ultraviolet light in Shanghai, China. Although types of UV light are already in use to decontaminate vehicles and indoor spaces, the wavelengths used are dangerous to people. Researchers hope that wavelengths of far-UVC light can be used harmlessly when people are present.

Covid-19

Could UV Light Reduce the Spread of Covid-19 in Indoor Spaces?

Some wavelengths of light in a range called far-UVC kill microbes in experiments and appear to be harmless to people

With more reports on the rise, doctors and public health experts are emphasizing that vaccines against covid-19 and influenza are the best way to protect against cases of severe infection.  

Covid-19

What Is 'Flurona'? Cases of Co-Infections Increase Amid Peak Influenza Season and Omicron Variant Surge

In the United States, most infections are being reported in young children and teens

A postcard of Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, New York, from 1914

Five of America's Most Invincible Hotels

From Miami to San Francisco, these luxury establishments survived their share of crises before the Covid-19 pandemic

Mask wearing and other behaviors developed during the Covid-19 pandemic are largely keeping flu cases low this year.

How Covid-19 Precautions Have Kept Flu Cases Low

By this time last year, the U.S. had recorded over 65,000 cases of influenza

Health workers in protective suits cull ducks in Karuvatta after the H5N8 bird flu strain was detected.

Avian Flu Outbreak in India Results in Mass Poultry Culls

No cases of avian flu have been detected in humans during the current outbreak

As municipalities determined what public activities should or shouldn’t be permitted, people were puzzling through their own choices about how to celebrate the holidays.

What the Pandemic Christmas of 1918 Looked Like

Concerns about the safety of gift shopping, family gatherings and church services were on Americans' minds then, too

Henry Bergh (in top hat) stopping an overcrowded horsecar, from Harper’s Weekly, Sept. 21, 1872.

The Horse Flu Epidemic That Brought 19th-Century America to a Stop

An equine influenza in 1872 laid bare how essential horses were to the economy

Woodrow Wilson, seen here at the start of the Paris Peace Conference in January 1919, never publicly acknowledged the pandemic's toll on his country.

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What Happened When Woodrow Wilson Came Down With the 1918 Flu?

The president contracted influenza while attending peace talks in Paris, but the nation was never told the full, true story

A worker disinfects a hog pen in Suining in southwest China's Sichuan province in February 2020.

New Swine Flu Strain With Pandemic Potential Isn’t Cause for Alarm

The findings are a reminder not to forget about seasonal viruses, but also shows that virus surveillance systems work

Vial and packaging for the 1957 H2N2 vaccine, at the National Museum of American History. Producing the inoculation required hundreds of thousands of fertilized chicken eggs per day.

Covid-19

How the U.S. Fought the 1957 Flu Pandemic

The story of the medical researcher whose quick action protected millions of Americans from a new contagion

Mayor Davie was tossed into jail for refusing to wear a mask.

Covid-19

In 1919, the Mayor of Oakland Was Arrested for Failing to Wear a Mask

John L. Davie was a larger-than-life politician, but during the influenza pandemic, even he wasn’t above the law

Baseball star Babe Ruth in his last year with the Boston Red Sox in 1919, one year after he survived the Spanish flu.

Covid-19

When Babe Ruth and the Great Influenza Gripped Boston

As Babe Ruth was emerging as baseball's great slugger in 1918, he fell sick with the flu

Philip Kahn, pictured on his 100th birthday with his grandson, Warren Zysman, and great-grandson

Covid-19

One Hundred Years After Influenza Killed His Twin Brother, WWII Veteran Dies of COVID-19

In the days before his death, the New York man spoke often of his lost twin and the lessons humanity seemed not to have learned

Though much has changed since 1918, the sentiments shared in writings from this earlier pandemic are likely to resonate with modern readers.

Covid-19

What We Can Learn From 1918 Influenza Diaries

These letters and journals offer insights on how to record one's thoughts amid a pandemic

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