Influenza

Influenza (the flu) is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. The best way to prevent the flu is by getting a flu vaccination each year. Every year in the United States, on average 5% to 20% of the population gets the flu; more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications, and; about 36,000 people die from flu-related causes. Some people, such as older people, young children, and people with certain health conditions, are at high risk for serious flu complications.

Types of Influenza

Influenza is caused by three types of RNA viruses called influenza types A, B and C, which all belong to the family Orthomyxoviridae.

Influenza Immunization

Influenza Epidemiology

Influenza Prognosis

Influenza Symptoms

Influenza Treatments

Influenza Pandemics

Influenza Research

Influenza Infection in Animals

Should I get the Flu Shot?

Latest Influenza News and Research

Pasteurization destroys influenza viruses in milk, reinforcing dairy safety

Pasteurization at 63°C and 72°C effectively inactivates influenza A viruses in milk, ensuring its safety for human consumption while viral RNA may still be detected.

2 Feb 2025

New method can neutralize coronaviruses with mineral nanoparticles

A new way to neutralize the coronavirus and other membrane-surrounded viruses has been discovered by researchers from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the University of Tartu.

31 Jan 2025

Ventilation and air cleaners may increase aerosol spread in hospitals

Increased use of ventilation and air cleaners, designed to mitigate the spread of viral infections in hospitals, is likely to have unpredictable effects and may cause viral particles to move around more, according to a new study from researchers at UCL and UCLH.

31 Jan 2025

Antibody therapy provides protection against severe H5N1 avian flu in monkeys

A prophylactic antibody-based immune therapy protects monkeys against severe disease caused by H5N1 avian flu, University of Pittsburgh and NIH Vaccine Research Center researchers report today in Science.

30 Jan 2025

New tool detects highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants early

Researchers have developed a powerful tool that can detect variants of SARS-CoV-2 with high transmission potential before they become widespread.

29 Jan 2025

New AI tool promises faster vaccine development by predicting T cell epitopes

An exciting collaboration between the Ragon Institute and the Jameel Clinic at MIT has achieved a significant milestone in leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to aid the development of T cell vaccine candidates.

29 Jan 2025

New tool launched to track infectious disease spread through wastewater

The European Commission has just launched a new tool that supports the tracking of the spread of infectious diseases by analyzing wastewater: the European Wastewater Surveillance Dashboard. It displays data from across the EU by bringing together existing national and research-based dashboards.

29 Jan 2025

Exposure to diverse news sources increases vaccine uptake

People who get their news from an ideologically diverse array of sources are more likely to get vaccinated, regardless of their political affiliation, new University of Colorado Boulder research shows.

27 Jan 2025

Penn researchers develop optimized framework for COVID-19 vaccination distribution

Engineering and medical researchers at Penn have developed a groundbreaking framework that can determine the best and most computationally optimized distribution strategy for COVID-19 vaccinations in any given community.

22 Jan 2025

SHEA calls for continued U.S. partnership with the World Health Organization

The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) wants to emphasize the importance of global partnerships in addressing health threats that impact all of us, as Americans and global citizens. We urge President Trump to reconsider the decision to terminate the U.S. relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO).

21 Jan 2025

Cigarette smoke alters immune cell function in the lungs

Cigarette smoking is widespread and deadly, yet our understanding of how cigarette smoke actually causes serious respiratory illnesses is incomplete, which has severely hampered the development of effective treatments.

17 Jan 2025

Study reveals dangerous mutations in H5N1 bird flu

One of the earliest strains of bird flu isolated from a human in Texas shows a unique constellation of mutations that enable it to more easily replicate in human cells and cause more severe disease in mice compared to a strain found in dairy cattle, researchers from Texas Biomedical Research Institute (Texas Biomed) report in Emerging Microbes & Infections.

16 Jan 2025

Unexpected viral reservoir: influenza A thrives in cattle mammary glands

Researchers uncover how influenza A virus infects dairy cattle, revealing the mammary gland's surprising role in viral replication and transmission through milk.

15 Jan 2025

Study reveals how cigarette smoke weakens immune cells in the lungs

15 Jan 2025

UQ and Vaxxas win global prize to accelerate patch-based mRNA vaccine for COVID-19

The University of Queensland's BASE facility – within the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) – and Brisbane-based biotechnology company Vaxxas have been announced as stage winners of a prestigious global prize to accelerate a patch-based mRNA vaccine for COVID-19.

13 Jan 2025