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A British tourist fighting for his life in Thailand is feared to be the first Western victim of the coronavirus sweeping across China. Ash Shorley, 32, is in critical condition in a hospital in Phuket after being struck down with a lung infection while visiting Koh Phi Phi island. Mr Shorley had to be transported to hospital by a specialised seaplane because his lung had collapsed and he could not cope with high altitude travel. Doctors revealed his symptoms were consistent with the Chinese coronavirus – but this has not yet been confirmed. He has been in hospital for nearly...

We're only about halfway through this year's flu season and the virus is hitting hard. Clinical nutritionist, Paige Welsch, joins FOX6 WakeUp with some ways to stay healthy. Foods & Supplements To Support Immunity and to Prevent the Cold/Flu: Vitamin D3 Look for vitamin D3 with vitamin K2 for best absorption and utilization If available on the supplement label, look for the MK-7 form of vitamin K2 (there is MK-7 and MK-4) Your blood levels of vitamin D should be between 40 and 60 ng/mL for optimal health and immunity The medical range of vitamin D is between 20-100 ng/mL,...

The United States may be headed into a bad flu season, according to figures recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of the last week of December, “widespread” flu activity was reported by health departments in 46 states. More ominously, a second measure — the percentage of patients with flu symptoms visiting medical clinics — shot up almost to the peak reached at the height of the 2017-18 flu season, which was the most severe in a decade.

There are different types of flu viruses, and the one causing illnesses in most parts of the country is a surprise. It’s a version that normally doesn’t abound until March or April. That virus generally isn’t as dangerous to older people — good news, since most flu hospitalizations and deaths each winter occur in the elderly. However, such viruses can be hard on children and people younger than 50. Louisiana was the first state to really get hit hard, with doctors there saying they began seeing large numbers of flu-like illnesses in October. In both of the previous two flu...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says flu season is starting to ramp up — and it's not too late to reduce your risk with a vaccine. But scientists have come to realize that flu vaccines are less effective for people who are overweight or obese. Considering that excess weight affects more than two-thirds of the U.S. adult population, that's a significant shortcoming. Researchers are studying why that's the case, with an eye toward developing better flu vaccines. This issue came to light during the 2009 flu pandemic, the first major outbreak of the 21st century. Health officials noticed...

A high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet like the Keto regimen has its fans, but influenza apparently isn't one of them. Mice fed a ketogenic diet were better able to combat the flu virus than mice fed food high in carbohydrates, according to a new Yale University study published Nov. 15 in the journal Science Immunology. The ketogenic diet—which for people includes meat, fish, poultry, and non-starchy vegetables—activates a subset of T cells in the lungs not previously associated with the immune system's response to influenza, enhancing mucus production from airway cells that can effectively trap the virus, the researchers report. "This was...

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases plans to deliberately infect as many as 80 people with the flu virus as part of a new series of trials aimed at studying how the disease progresses and finding ways to control it. The agency said its scientists would conduct the trials on “healthy adults” between 18 and 50 years old at four different facilities in Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio. Each volunteer is expected to receive up to $3,300 as compensation, the institute told CNN. Participants will be given a nasal sprain containing a strain of the influenza A...

Antibiotics can leave the lung vulnerable to flu viruses, leading to significantly worse infections and symptoms, finds a new study. The research discovered that signals from gut bacteria help to maintain a first line of defence in the lining of the lung. When mice with healthy gut bacteria were infected with the flu, around 80% of them survived. However, only a third survived if they were given antibiotics before being infected. "We found that antibiotics can wipe out early flu resistance, adding further evidence that they should not be taken or prescribed lightly," explains Dr Andreas Wack. "Inappropriate use not...

CDC reports that the vaccine failed miserably against a flu bug that popped up halfway through the season. This season's shot turned out to be a mismatch against the bug that showed up late in the year. The least effective flu vaccine in the past decade was in 2014-2015; that year a mismatch was also blamed. According to ABC News, vaccines against most infectious diseases are not considered successful unless they are at least 90% effective. Due to the flu virus' ability to change so quickly, vaccine effectiveness usually averages around 40%.

An investigation into the cause of their deaths is ongoing, but a recent World Health Organization alert warns of a deadly influenza strain, including in Fiji where it is “particularly affecting young adults.”

Doctors in the early 1900s dismissed Spanish flu as a 'minor infection' just years before it killed 50 million people, according to scientists. Countless lives could have been saved if medics had taken it seriously and worked out how to stop the virus before the disastrous outbreak in 1918, researchers say. A study has found there were investigations as early as 1915 into a mysterious illness which was killing World War I soldiers in France and England. ...

At first glance, world-renowned Israeli virologist Dr. Madeleine Mumcuoglu does not seem like the sort of person you expect to come up with what could turn out to be a cure for one of humanity's biggest threats today - the avian flu. She seems comfortable and grandmotherly, not the type to be on the frontline of research into a potential pandemic. On the other hand, however, Mumcuoglu's treatment, Sambucol, which is already a clinically proven treatment for regular flu and in new in-vitro tests proved effective against avian flu, is based on elderberries, an old folk remedy for influenza passed...

Scientists said Monday they had discovered immune cells that can fight all known flu viruses in what was hailed as an "extraordinary breakthrough" that could lead to a universal, one-shot vaccine against the killer disease. Influenza epidemics, largely seasonal, kill hundreds of thousands of people each year, according to the World Health Organization. Due to its mutating strains, vaccine formulas must be regularly updated and only offer limited protection currently. Researchers in Australia said that "killer T cells"—found in over half the world's population—had shown in testing to be effective in fighting all common flu varieties. This means the cells...

Lago Vista Independent School District announced Wednesday it will cancel all classes in the district Thursday and Friday due to influenza-related absences. The closure aims to decrease the spread of the flu virus by keeping students at home. During this time, the LVISD custodial staff will thoroughly disinfect all buses and spaces. All school-related activities scheduled for Thursday and Friday — including evening activities — will continue at the discretion of the activity sponsor. KXAN spoke with a group of seventh graders who said they started noticing their friends get sick last week. "Friday, I saw like two of my...

A Central Texas school district is shutting their doors for the rest of the week after the flu takes a toll on attendance. McDade ISD in Bastrop County is closed Thursday and Friday. Classes will resume Monday, January 28 according to the district. Even though no students were on campus, staff spent Thursday hard at work cleaning every surface in sight. "Anything within reach of human hands -- we have scrubbed it and disinfected it," says McDade ISD Superintendent Barbara Marchbanks. She has never closed school because of a virus in the five years she's been with the district...Dr. Eric...

ALBUQUERQUE – Monday, January 14, 2019–IMMEDIATE RELEASE—New Mexico is one of the states listed by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as having widespread flu outbreaks and high Influenza-like Illness (ILI) Activity. Due to the severity of the flu season, the archdiocese will be taking the following steps in regards to the celebration of Mass: • During the Sign of Peace, instead of shaking hands or hugging, as is practiced in some parishes, it would be best to simply nod your head and avoid bodily contact.

Up to 7.3 million people have been sick with flu so far this season, the CDC says. Half those people have been to the doctor because of flu, it says. As many as 83,500 people have been hospitalized because of flu, federal health officials say.

Weeks after mainstream media outlets reported that illegal immigrants don’t bring disease into the United States, the Border Patrol reveals that it is getting slammed daily with dozens of illegal immigrants carrying “serious illnesses.” This includes tuberculosis, influenza and pneumonia. In fact, a Guatemalan migrant who died in U.S. custody on Christmas Eve had Influenza B, a virus that causes respiratory infections. Federal agents are referring 50 illegal immigrants a day for urgent medical care, according to figures obtained by Washington D.C.’s conservative newspaper . Authorities say “it’s unlike anything they’ve ever seen before.” Many of the migrants have tuberculosis,...

Cortney wrote about the sudden passing of Bre Payton, who was a regular fixture on Fox News and a staff writer for The Federalist. She was only 26. According to reports, she succumbed to the flu (H1N1) and possibly meningitis. Her friend Morgan Murtaugh found her unresponsive last Thursday in San Diego; Payton was in California guest hosting a show on One America News Network.I only met Bre a couple of times, but she was always a class act, very kind, and respected by many. She was talented, smart, and the Federalist was lucky to have her. She was prolific...

Bre Payton, a-year-old political writer and TV commentator, died suddenly on Friday, a day after being hospitalized with H1N1 swine flu, her friends and employer said. A staff writer at The Federalist and frequent guest on Fox News, Payton was found “unresponsive and barely breathing” Thursday morning by a friend and was rushed to a San Diego hospital, according to a CaringBridge fundraising page set up for her. If Payton died from meningitis, which can cause sudden death, she likely had a weakened immune system, which could have been caused by influenza. It is unclear whether Payton received the flu...