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Hospitals across the United States are overwhelmed with children suffering from a specific respiratory illness, according to reports. According to a report from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), data showing Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) cases spiked over the last month. Typically, RSV causes children to contract the usual mild-cold symptoms, but the impact could be far worse for those with a compromised immune system or a heart defect. ... “We are treating a very high number of severely ill children,” Sarah Combs, an emergency medicine physician at Children’s National, told The Washington Post.

Bill Gates told actor Dax Shepard mRNA vaccines will not only end Covid, but they will eliminate the common cold and the flu.

The common cold can provide some protection from COVID-19, according to new research led by Imperial College London, which says the findings provide a blueprint for future vaccines that could offer immunity to all variants of the coronavirus. Since the start of the pandemic, scientists have questioned why some people are able to resist coronavirus infection despite prolonged exposure, while others are easily infected. The researchers set out to test a theory that a type of white blood cells called T cells, produced by the human body to fight the cold, could offer some protection. "Previous infection with common cold...

How do I know if I have a cold, the flu or COVID-19? Experts say testing is the best way to determine what you have since symptoms of the illnesses can overlap. The viruses that cause colds, the flu and COVID-19 are spread the same way — through droplets from the nose and mouth of infected people. And they can all be spread before a person realizes they’re infected. The time varies for when someone with any of the illnesses will start feeling sick. Some people infected with the coronavirus don’t experience any symptoms, but it’s still possible for them...

A model of COVID-19 is seen ahead of a U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the plan to research, manufacture and distribute a coronavirus vaccine, known as Operation Warp Speed, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on July 2, 2020. Pool Photo by Saul Loeb/UPI | License Photo *************************************************************************** Vaccination is still the best way to protect someone from COVID-19, but new research suggests that immune system activation of T-cells by common colds may offer some cross-protection. The study might also provide a blueprint for a second-generation, universal vaccine that could prevent infection from current and future variants, the research...

Brits suffering from miserable colds could actually be enduring breakthrough cases of Covid-19 without realising, potentially allowing the virus to continue to spread. Over the past few weeks hundreds of thousands of people have been struck down by the fierce return of the common cold. Anecdotal evidence suggests the 'worst cold ever' has spread widely, possibly fuelled by a dip in immunity after a year and a half of social distancing and mask wearing limited its potential to infect. Rather than the usual inconveniencing runny nose and cough, the disease has been laying people out. "The worse cold I have...

One day you’re feeling fine, the next, your nose is running, you’re sneezing and your throat feels like you’ve swallowed broken glass. Welcome to the annual cold season. Most of us will get between one and three colds each year, usually in autumn and winter, caused by one of more than 200 different cold viruses. And there is little you can do about it — a cure for the common cold remains one of the Holy Grails of medicine — but better understanding of how these viruses spread could be the key. What we do know for sure is that...

Two high school students, Sum Ming Wong and Kin Pong Li, both living in Hong Kong have designed and built a door handle that kills germs, thus preventing the spread of disease through hand contact. They demonstrated their handle at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair held last month in Pittsburgh—taking second place in the materials science category. One of the ways that ailments such as cold and flu are passed is via contact, and one of the main avenues is via door handles—a sick person coughs into their hand then uses the handle to enter a bathroom, office,...

<p>DES MOINES — Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) collapsed at an event Monday in the Des Moines suburbs and is currently receiving medical attention, according to an aide.</p> <p>“Gov. Branstad fell ill at an event today at DuPont Pioneer,” said Jimmy Centers, a Branstad adviser. “An ambulance was called and he was transported to Methodist Hospital in Des Moines. The governor was conscious and alert during the transport to the hospital. The governor had been suffering from the effects of a cold for a couple of days.”</p>

Reference article about fomites and spread of viruses in offic enclosed environments. Long technical article. Pertains to enteric and Norovirus among others. Short version via MailOnline available here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2748351/Why-really-need-wash-hands-work-Infections-spread-office-door-handle-half-workforce-just-two-HOURS.html (Snip) Study found between 40 and 60 per cent of office contaminated in two hours Pushing buttons in lifts and touching phones spread infection quickest  Disinfectant wipes and regularly washing hands is best way to kill germs   Infections can spread from an office door handle to half the workforce in just two hours, new research has found.  Using tracer viruses, a study found as much as 60 per cent of...

Some people get back-to-back colds, infected by a new virus ~snip~ To get infected, the so-called ICAM receptors, which the rhinovirus attaches to in order to enter the nasal cells, need to be open, Dr. Palmenberg said. "Rhinos are out there all the time, it's just a question of when you are susceptible," she said. Factors such as stress, lack of sleep and people's overall health can make them more likely to get infected. More than 150 strains or genotypes of the rhinovirus have been identified and researchers believe there are probably many more. Rhinovirus replicates best in the relatively...

Obama's Super Bowl prediction was based on his opinion that the Colts have "perhaps the best quarterback in history."

People with asthma and other preexisting lung diseases face an especially exaggerated year-round risk from a deficiency Getting plenty of vitamin D — more than diet can offer — appears to provide potent protection against colds, flu and even pneumonia, a new study reports. Although the amount of protection varies by season, the trend is solid: As the amount of vitamin D circulating in blood climbs, risk of upper respiratory tract infections falls. Though that’s not too surprising (SN: 11/11/06, p. 312), the researchers found one unexpected trend: “In people with preexisting lung disease, such as asthma and chronic obstructive...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 — Major makers of over-the-counter infant cough and cold medicines announced Thursday that they were withdrawing their products from the market for fear that they could be misused. The voluntary withdrawal, already under way, affects only products labeled for use in infants, not for use in children 2 and older. And some small companies could continue selling infant products. More changes, perhaps mandated by federal drug regulators, could be in the offing. The withdrawal comes two weeks after safety reviewers within the Food and Drug Administration urged the agency to consider an outright ban of over-the-counter cough...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 — Hoping to halt the growing number of injuries to infants and toddlers, the Food and Drug Administration issued an advisory Wednesday warning parents never to give cough and cold medicines to children under the age of 2 unless instructed to do so by a doctor. The warning is part of a broad reassessment by the agency of the safety of the popular medicines, which have been blamed for hundreds of adverse reactions and a handful of deaths in children under the age of 2. The F.D.A. will convene a panel of independent experts on Oct. 18...

Caption: Design student Olivia Ong '07 hugs two garments, treated with metallic nanoparticles through a collaboration with fiber scientists Juan Hinestroza and Hong Dong, that she designed as part of her fashion line, "Glitterati." Fashion designers and fiber scientists at Cornell have taken "functional clothing" to a whole new level. They have designed a garment that can prevent colds and flu and never needs washing, and another that destroys harmful gases and protects the wearer from smog and air pollution. The two-toned gold dress and metallic denim jacket, featured at the April 21 Cornell Design League fashion show, contain...

I moved into a great basement apartment a few months ago, AND I work with kids. Around that time I picked up a cold, with chest congestion, sinus pressure, etc. My doctor gave me two hours of tests, including for TB (I used to work with the homeless) and cancer--X-Rays, the works. In the end she said I had a cold. After much research, I have come to find that the real source of my trouble MAY be that my basement apartment, which leaks when the snow melts, may be contributing to my woes with mildew. I have no previous...

Sniffle-Busting Personalities: Positive mood guards against getting colds Bruce Bower People with generally positive outlooks show greater resistance to developing colds than do individuals who rarely revel in upbeat feelings, a new investigation finds. Frequently basking in positive emotions defends against colds regardless of how often one experiences negative emotions, say psychologist Sheldon Cohen of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and his colleagues. They suspect that positive emotions stimulate symptom-fighting substances. "We need to take more seriously the possibility that a positive emotional style is a major player in disease risk," Cohen says. In a study published in 2003, his...

May 24, 2005 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Resveratrol, a chemical found in red grapes, blocks replication of the influenza virus in cell culture and in animals, Italian researchers report. "Resveratrol merits further investigation as a potential weapon for combating the growing threat of influenza," Dr. Anna Teresa Palamara of the Institute of Microbiology in Rome and colleagues conclude. In cell culture experiments, resveratrol prevented influenza from replicating. Study: Cigarette Smoke May Harm Fertility Big Guns: When Cops Use Steroids Study: Bypass Better for Clogged Arteries Resveratrol treatment had the greatest effect when administered 3 hours after exposure to...

Ginseng can help keep you clear of colds, say scientists By Nic Fleming, Science Correspondent (Filed: 25/10/2005) People who take ginseng suffer substantially fewer colds, research published yesterday showed. Only one in 10 of those given daily doses of North American ginseng root extract suffered two or more colds during four months including winter, compared with almost a quarter of those taking placebos. While a range of health benefits have been claimed for the herb, including combating flu and colds, many previous attempts to test such claims scientifically have been of poor quality. Publication of the research in the Canadian...