Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Research calculates the years of life lost to COVID-19 in 81 countries

The major direct and indirect effects of covid-19 have forced the authorities to implement policies that strike a balance between minimizing the immediate health impact of the pandemic and containing the long-term damage to society arising from protective policies.

20 Feb 2021

To vaccinate veterans, health care workers must cross mountains, plains and tundra

A Learjet 31 took off before daybreak from Helena Regional Airport in Montana, carrying six Veterans Affairs medical providers and 250 doses of historic cargo cradled in a plug-in cooler designed to minimize breakage.

19 Feb 2021

Companies pan for marketing gold in vaccines

For a decade, Jennifer Crow has taken care of her elderly parents, who have multiple sclerosis. After her father had a stroke in December, the family got serious in its conversations with a retirement community — and learned that one service it offered was covid-19 vaccination.

19 Feb 2021

Chicken-derived antibody shows potent neutralizing capacity against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro

Researchers report on a Chicken-derived antibody against SARS-CoV-2, offering preliminary data on a potential therapeutic for COVID-19 warranting further research.

19 Feb 2021

COVID-19 and lung cancer have a common pathway, say researchers

A new preprint on the bioRxiv* server describes the common features COVID-19 shares with lung cancer.

19 Feb 2021

Juvenile inflammatory rheumatic disease associated with higher antibody responses to seasonal coronaviruses

A new study released on the bioRxiv* server compared the antibodies produced in young patients with these three conditions against the two immunodominant coronavirus antigens, the spike and the nucleocapsid antigens.

19 Feb 2021

Does climate play a large role in SARS-CoV-2 transmission?

A team of researchers from the Universidade Federal de Itajuba in Brazil has reported that weather plays a vital role in determining the transmission rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

19 Feb 2021

Study: First influenza infection does not make people immune to future flu viruses

A child's first influenza infection shapes their immunity to future airborne flu viruses-;including emerging pandemic strains.

19 Feb 2021

Trispecific antibody targets cancer cells, natural killer cells

Several treatments for cancer have been devised by science, but unfortunately none of them are completely efficient or foolproof.

19 Feb 2021

Study explores the perceptions and use of antibiotics among older adults

While most adults over 50 understand that overuse of antibiotics is a problem, and say they're cautious about taking the drugs, a sizable minority have used antibiotics for something other than their original purpose, and appear to think the drugs could help treat colds, which are caused by viruses not bacteria.

18 Feb 2021

Restricting testing to 'classic triad' of symptoms may have missed some COVID-19 cases

Extending the symptoms that trigger a PCR test for COVID-19 could help detect around a third more cases of the disease.

18 Feb 2021

Montana’s health policy MVP takes her playbook on the road

Marilyn Bartlett might be the closest thing health policy has to a folk hero. A certified public accountant who barely tops 5 feet, Bartlett bears zero resemblance to Paul Bunyan.

18 Feb 2021

One in five people lack protein α-actinin-3 in their muscle fiber, shows study

Almost one in five people lack the protein α-actinin-3 in their muscle fibers. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden now show that more of the skeletal muscle of these individuals comprises slow-twitch muscle fibers, which are more durable and energy-efficient and provide better tolerance to low temperatures than fast-twitch muscle fibers.

18 Feb 2021

Radiological images reveal how COVID virus can trigger the body to attack itself

Muscle soreness and achy joints are common symptoms among COVID-19 patients. But for some people, symptoms are more severe, long-lasting, and even bizarre, including rheumatoid arthritis flares, autoimmune myositis, or "COVID toes."

18 Feb 2021

Rural hospital remains entrenched in Covid ‘war’ even amid vaccine rollout

The "heroes work here" sign in front of St. James Parish Hospital has been long gone, along with open intensive care unit beds in the state of Louisiana.

17 Feb 2021

What are the main food safety concerns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic?

A new study deals with the main food safety concerns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

17 Feb 2021

China's SARS and SARS-CoV-2 outbreak management in comparative perspective

A new study compares the current SARS-CoV-2 outbreak with the earlier SARS-CoV epidemic to understand the best way to respond to it sensitively and flexibly. This involves early detection, using multiple screening tests, followed by management of the clinical features as required, in order to prevent disease-related injury.

17 Feb 2021

Probiotics may be beneficial in COVID-19 treatment

A new study explores the role of common probiotics in managing the disease, which could prove to be of great value, given the emergence of new variants and the broad spectrum of clinical disease in COVID-19.

17 Feb 2021

Self-sterilizing polymers are effective at inactivating SARS-CoV-2 virus

Researchers from North Carolina State University, Boston University, and Kraton Corporation have demonstrated a family of self-sterilizing polymers that are effective at inactivating coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2 - the virus that causes COVID-19.

17 Feb 2021

Scientists to develop highly sensitive antibody tests for infection caused by all coronaviruses

Scientists at the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and SunYat-Sen University in China have set the stage for the development of highly sensitive antibody tests for infection with all known human coronaviruses, including new variants of SARS-CoV-2.

17 Feb 2021