Influenza – Fusion Nepal

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You’re more likely to get the flu from a sick flight attendant than a sick passenger: study

sudshr47 March 19, 2018

Air travel is often depicted as a spreader of diseases around the world, given that it squeezes lots of people into a small space. However, a new study shows that you’re not likely to get the flu from a passenger seated more than 1 meter, or 3.3 feet, away from you.

The study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, claims to be the first to rigorously test the spread of viruses — specifically influenza — that are transmitted via large droplets, such as when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

Researchers from Emory University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Boeing employed teams of observers in pairs, sitting every five rows down in economy class in single-aisle aircraft during 10 transcontinental flights in 2012 and 2013. These observers watched and recorded the movements of passengers during the flight using an iPad app. Read more…

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Flu season has gone from bad to worse, CDC reports, as 17 more children die in the US

sudshr47 February 2, 2018

Top doctors at the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC) continue to report more grim news about this year’s severe flu season, largely due to a particularly nasty strain of the virus.
On Friday morning, the CDC provided updated …

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This year’s flu shot might not stop the virus, but it can fend off the worst symptoms

sudshr47 January 31, 2018

There’s a potent flu virus infecting Americans this influenza season — even healthy people including a marathon runner and bodybuilder have become seriously ill. But although the flu shot isn’t so effective this year, the vaccine will still probably spare you from the most severe symptoms, hospitalization, or at worst, death.

Like most flu seasons, there are a few strains circulating around the country right now, but one of these — dubbed H3N2 – is notably vicious. At worst, it’s taken the lives of children and healthy adults. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes there is “widespread” flu activity in nearly every region it monitors around the country, and H3N2 was the most frequently identified strain reported as of mid-January. Read more…

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