One of that largest myths when it comes to the flu is that you can get sick from the flu vaccine. In fact, this can stop someone from getting the flu shot all together.
But, this fear is not based in fact.
Fear of infection from the vaccine exists because the shot contains the flu virus. Although, keep in mind that the flu shot doesn’t contain a live version of the virus. Any flu that exists in the vaccine is inactive or deadened. An inactive version of the virus cannot spread the illness.
You’ve probably heard a lot about climate change affecting global aspects such as glaciers and agriculture. Thanks to recent studies, we now that it also impacts disease rates.
A new study due to be published in January 2019 suggests that as average temperatures in India continue to increase, so too will the country’s risk for further chikungunya cases.
With no cure or vaccine to fight chikungunya, researchers fear the threat that the potentially fatal illness could pose.
When you picture harmful infections, shingles is probably not the first one that comes to mind.
Yet, while the illness may seem to “just” cause an irritating rash, pain, itching and tingling, it can also cause permanent damage. Some patients may even deal with constant pain for years after infection.
Considering almost one in every three people in the United States will develop shingles in their lifetime, understanding how it works is necessary for millions.
Over the summer, we noted a rise in cases of the West Nile Virus throughout the United States. Since then, the possible risks have only continued to rise.
Records are breaking across the country as a case of West Nile has been reported in every single state in the U.S. except Hawaii. The most reports of the disease are coming out of Texas and Florida.
Due to these cases, there have been many deaths associated with West Nile throughout the country.
Even with the help of modern medicine, the possibility of disease pandemics doesn’t go away. Outbreaks like the Spanish Flu in 1918 show the costs of one of these pandemics. It just takes one dangerous and previously unseen virus that can spread across the globe.
It’s important for us to ask how much would it cost to develop vaccines that could prevent these pandemics from even happening?
A study published earlier this year in the Lancet looked at this exact issue. Researchers from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) conducted the study.
A mysterious polio-like illness has been making major headlines this past week after the CDC announced that more than 150 potential cases are under investigation.
The disease in question is called acute flaccid myelitis (AFM).
Considering it is mostly children who have been affected so far, many parents are concerned about this seemingly new problem.
Even though AFM is not actually a recent discovery, scientists still don’t understand much about it.
A new study published in August by the New York Genome Center helped uncover one of health’s largest mysteries: why gene mutations cause different symptoms for people with the same disease.
The questions has gone unanswered within the science community for years. As a tool to predict symptoms of diseases such as cancer and autism, an answer could help millions around the world.
While living in a big city likely makes it easier for you to catch the flu, a new study shows that population size is not the only factor in efficient virus transmission.
Researchers from the American Association for the Advancement of Science studied weekly data from 603 cities collected day and night over six years. The results showed what shapes the intensity, length and effect of the flu season in different cities across the country.
Georgian DeKalb County Board of Health official Dr. Sandra Ford noted that research focused on cities of different climates and sizes.
A recent study from teams at Fiocruz and the Institute Pasteur reveals that the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) is capable of spreading yellow fever.
Considering the tiger mosquito is active in both urban and forest environments, the findings are a cause for concern.
That said, the information could also prove invaluable in the fight to prevent dangerous yellow fever outbreaks. Officials could even use the information for the current epidemic plaguing Brazil.
Last year’s flu season was reportedly the deadliest in 40 years with at least 80,000 lives taken according to the CDC.
The total for the 2017-2018 flu season was revealed in late September 2018. It is significantly higher than recent counts of flu-related deaths, which have been between 12,000 and 56,000 per year.
Experts knew at the time that the disease was hitting harder than anticipated, but such a high toll was unexpected. In fact, Vanderbilt University vaccine expert Dr. William Schaffner told the Associated Press that the amount was almost twice as much as what officials had previously considered to be a bad year.
