Cold and Flu

Cold and Flu Overview

Is it a cold or the flu? While a common cold, including chest cold and head cold, can be caused by more than 200 viruses, seasonal flu is caused by either influenza A or B viruses. Cold and flu remedies can usually ease symptoms. Antiviral medications like Relenza or Tamiflu are helpful if prescribed soon after flu symptoms start.

Cold & Flu Health Center

News and Features Related to Cold & Flu

1. H1N1 Swine Flu Not So Catchy
   

   Dec. 30, 2009 -- H1N1 swine flu is less catchy than previous pandemic flu bugs, a household study finds. The study looked at 216 two- to six-person households in which one family member came down with a confirmed case of 2009 H1N1 swine flu. Only 13% of family members caught the flu from the infecte

2. H1N1 Risky for Pregnant, Postpartum Women
   

   Dec. 28, 2009 -- H1N1 influenza poses a special risk to pregnant women and new mothers, but life-threatening treatment delays are common in this group, a new study confirms. Researchers from the CDC and the California Department of Public Health examined all H1N1-related hospitalizations among Calif

3. Flu Breakthrough: The Search for a Universal Vaccine
   

   Medical sleuths have been trailing the elusive cold and flu viruses for more than a century. Now they finally might be onto something. A universal flu vaccine could be on the horizon -- and even more effective treatments for the common cold. Wayne Marasco, MD, PhD, is one of the most ardent sleuths.

4. Eight Surprising Facts About Swine Flu
   

   The H1N1 flu was a surprise right from the start: a soon-to-be pandemic flu virus that was first identified in kids in the United States. But that's not the only unusual fact about H1N1 flu. Here are eight more surprising developments: 1 Name that flu virus In April 2009, CDC researchers met to name

5. 60 Million in U.S. Vaccinated Against Swine Flu
   

   Dec. 22, 2009 -- At least 60 million people in the U.S. have rolled up their sleeves or taken the nasal spray version of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine, according a briefing at the CDC today. Twice as many doses have gone to children than adults, but only about 2 million children had received the second

6. Single H1N1 Swine Flu Shot for Kids?
   

   Dec. 21, 2009 - Can kids get by with just one dose of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine? Yes, an Australian study suggests. No, says the CDC -- they'll still need two doses. Australian researchers report that a 15-microgram dose of H1N1 vaccine -- double the dose approved for U.S. kids under age 3 but the

7. H1N1 Swine Flu Shots for Kids Recalled
   

   Dec. 15, 2009 -- The CDC today issued a voluntary recall of hundreds of thousands of doses of pediatric H1N1 swine flu shots for "non-safety" reasons. The CDC says in a statement that the vaccines in pre-filled syringes are being recalled because tests indicate the doses in question have lost some o

8. 10,000 H1N1 Swine Flu Deaths
   

   Dec. 10, 2009 - H1N1 swine flu killed 10,000 Americans, sent 213,000 to the hospital, and sickened 50 million -- a sixth of the population -- by mid-November, the CDC estimates. The CDC's new estimates reflect a flood of new cases from mid-October to mid-November, as the current wave of the U.S. flu

9. Don’t Let a Cold Get You Down
   

   We’re a decade into the 21st century and scientists are no closer to that most elusive goal: a cure for the common cold. If anything, cold viruses seem more formidable than ever. Until recently, researchers thought there were about 100 variants of rhinoviruses, the most common cause of the common co

10. Tamiflu's Effectiveness Doubted
    

    Dec. 9, 2009 -- Widely used antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu and Relenza may not prevent complications such as pneumonia in healthy people, according to a new investigation and analysis. "We're not so sure the drugs are so magic a bullet as we previously thought," researcher Chris Del Mar, MD, dean o