Influenza News

April 6, 2025

Top Headlines

An Antiviral Chewing Gum to Reduce Influenza and Herpes Simplex Virus Transmission

Apr. 4, 2025 — Low vaccination rates for influenza viruses and the lack of an HSV vaccine underscore the need for a new approach to reduce viral transmission. Researchers have now used a clinical-grade antiviral ...

'Low-Sugar' Vaccine Can Provide Broad Immunity Against Coronavirus Variants

Mar. 25, 2025 — Early animal studies show that a single vaccine could protect the recipient from different variants of the coronaviruses that cause COVID-19, the flu and the common cold. In addition to creating antibodies that target a specific region of the spike ...

Current Antivirals Likely Less Effective Against Severe Infection Caused by Bird Flu Virus in Cows' Milk

Mar. 17, 2025 — Existing antivirals may be less effective against this H5N1 bird flu strain, and prevention measures, such as avoiding raw milk consumption and reducing exposure in dairy workers, may be the most ...

Older Adults Might Be More Resistant to Bird Flu Infections Than Children

Mar. 13, 2025 — Older adults who were exposed to seasonal flu viruses that circulated prior to 1968 are more likely to have some protection against H5N1, and children would benefit more from H5N1 ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:43am EDT

An Aerosol Test for Airborne Bird Flu

Mar. 7, 2025 — Recent outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (also known as bird flu) have created a need for rapid and sensitive detection methods to mitigate its spread. Now, researchers have developed a ...

Smartwatches Could End the Next Pandemic

Mar. 4, 2025 — Everyday smartwatches are extremely accurate in detecting viral infection long before symptoms appear -- now, research shows how they could help stop a pandemic before it even ...

New Biosensor Can Detect Airborne Bird Flu in Under 5 Minutes

Mar. 3, 2025 — As highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza continues to spread in the U.S., posing serious threats to dairy and poultry farms, both farmers and public health experts need better ways to monitor for ...

Immunity Against Seasonal H1N1 Flu Reduces Bird Flu Severity in Ferrets, Study Suggests

Feb. 26, 2025 — Pre-existing immunity against seasonal H1N1 flu might help explain why most reported human cases of H5N1 bird flu in the U.S. have not resulted in ...

Backyard Poultry Face Bird Flu Risk When Migrating Mallards Stop to Rest

Feb. 24, 2025 — Knowing where, when and for how long mallard ducks -- natural carriers of avian influenza -- stop and rest as they migrate can help predict the probability that they will spread bird flu to backyard ...

Antibody Treatment Prevents Severe Bird Flu in Monkeys

Jan. 30, 2025 — The antibody targets a stable part of the bird flu virus, ensuring that the immune protection can resist new variants and offer long-term protection against the globally spreading airborne ...

Bird Flu Is Mutating, but Antivirals Still Work

Jan. 15, 2025 — Researchers have identified nine mutations in a bird flu strain from a person in Texas. Bad news: this strain is more capable of causing disease and replicates better in the brain. Good news: ...

Officials Assess Threat of H5N1 Avian Flu

Jan. 2, 2025 — Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza A virus (HPAI H5N1) remains a low risk to the general public, and public health experts in the United States believe that available treatments and vaccines, as ...

Public Shows Greater Acceptance of RSV Vaccine as Vaccine Hesitancy Appears to Have Plateaued

Dec. 23, 2024 — A year after becoming available, vaccines to protect against RSV in newborns and older adults are being more widely accepted by the American public, ...

Scientists Design Workaround That Improves Response to Flu Vaccine

Dec. 19, 2024 — Stitching together four molecules found in the standard flu vaccine ensures an immune response to all of them, scientists have ...

Study Shows Drop in Use of Antiviral Medications in Young Children With Influenza

Dec. 17, 2024 — Despite national medical guidelines supporting the use of antiviral medications in young children diagnosed with influenza, a recent study reports an underuse of the ...

Flu Virus Remains Infectious in Refrigerated Raw Milk, Study Reveals

Dec. 16, 2024 — Influenza or flu virus remains infectious in refrigerated raw milk for up to five days, according to a new study. The findings come at a time when outbreaks of bird flu -- a different subtype of the ...

Single Mutation in H5N1 Influenza Surface Protein Could Enable Easier Human Infection

Dec. 6, 2024 — A single modification in the protein found on the surface of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 influenza virus currently circulating in U.S. dairy cows could allow for easier ...

Scientists Identify Mutation That Could Facilitate H5N1 'Bird Flu' Virus Infection and Potential Transmission in Humans

Dec. 5, 2024 — Avian influenza viruses typically require several mutations to adapt and spread among humans, but what happens when just one change can increase the risk of becoming a pandemic virus? A recent study ...

Pregnancy Enhances Natural Immunity to Block Severe Flu

Dec. 2, 2024 — Scientists have discovered that pregnancy may trigger a natural immunity to boost protection against severe flu infection. Contrary to the common belief that pregnancy increases vulnerability to ...

Eradivir's EV25 Therapeutic Reduces Advanced-Stage Influenza Viral Loads Faster, More Thoroughly in Preclinical Studies Than Current Therapies

Nov. 19, 2024 — A research article shows that Eradivir's patent-pending antiviral therapeutic called EV25 reduces lung viral loads of advanced-stage influenza in preclinical studies quicker and more effectively ...

New Roles in Infectious Process for Molecule That Inhibits Flu

Nov. 14, 2024 — Researchers have identified new roles for a protein long known to protect against severe flu infection -- among them, raising the minimum number of viral particles needed to cause ...

Key Influenza-Severity Risk Factor Found Hiding in Plain Sight on Our Antibodies

Nov. 13, 2024 — Why do some people develop severe flu symptoms? A study points the finger at an unsung portion of the antibodies our immune systems generate to fend off invading ...

New Study Traces Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Movement and Evolution of Seasonal Flu

Nov. 7, 2024 — Increased capabilities for genomic surveillance have offered new insights into global viral evolution. Seasonal flu showed a 'remarkable' bounce back to pre-pandemic levels once ...

RSV Vaccines Effective, but More People Need to Get Them

Oct. 28, 2024 — Doctors detail what we learned after the first season following the approval of RSV vaccines. The vaccine effectively prevented severe illness in older, but only 24 percent of eligible US adults ...

H5N1 Virus Isolated from Infected Dairy Worker Is 100% Lethal in Ferrets, but Does Not Appear to Be Circulating in Nature Anymore

Oct. 28, 2024 — A strain of H5N1 avian influenza virus found in a Texas dairy worker who was infected this spring was able to spread among ferrets through the air, although inefficiently, and killed 100% of infected ...

Could a Bout of COVID Protect You from a Severe Case of Flu?

Sep. 30, 2024 — New findings on how past viral respiratory infections affect future, unrelated ones could lead to therapies for boosting general antiviral immunity -- and potentially pandemic ...

Getting the Flu and Then Your Shot May Benefit Immunity

Sep. 30, 2024 — Researchers found that natural immunity from previous flu infections has a significant impact on how well future influenza vaccinations ...

'Food Theft' Among Seabirds Could Be Transmission Point for Deadly Avian Flu

Sep. 16, 2024 — If seabirds can catch avian flu by stealing food from infectious birds, it gives scientists a clue where to monitor for outbreaks among these vulnerable ...

H5 Influenza Vaccines: What Needs to Be Done to Reduce the Risk of a Pandemic

Sep. 4, 2024 — As the global threat of H5N1 influenza looms with outbreaks across species and continents including the U.S., three international vaccine and public health experts say it is time to fully resource ...

Late Start of COVID Treatment May Still Benefit Immunocompromised Patients, Study Finds

Sep. 3, 2024 — Starting antiviral treatment as late as 14 days after infection with SARS-CoV-2 may still be beneficial in hosts with compromised immune systems, who are at greatest risk of developing severe ...

Universal Flu Vaccine Candidate Protects Against Infection in Mice

Aug. 22, 2024 — A new flu vaccine candidate incorporates proteins from 8 strains of ...

T Helper Cells May Be the Key to Improving Annual Influenza Vaccines

Aug. 20, 2024 — Scientists have discovered why the flu vaccine can perform poorly. They found that a specific type of immune cell, called T follicular helper cells, indirectly controls the anti-influenza response. ...

New Insights on How Bird Flu Crosses the Species Barrier

Aug. 19, 2024 — The avian influenza virus needs to mutate to cross the species barrier and to infect and replicate within mammalian cells. Scientists have now deciphered the structure of the avian influenza ...

Nasal Spray Flu Vaccine Candidate Shows Promise When Administered Alongside High Dose Annual Shot

Aug. 15, 2024 — A unique influenza vaccine candidate that's inhaled appears safe and could bolster protection against seasonal and pandemic influenza for people vulnerable to severe disease when they receive it ...