Flu

New insights on influenza genome packaging could guide strategies for interfering with the virus's life cycle and ability to cause infection. Read More

From Vanderbilt Magazine: James Crowe, director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, hopes to create a universal flu vaccine--permanently eliminating the problem of ineffective or under-effective annual flu shots. Read More

Infectious disease experts are warning that flu can lead to an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and disability in elderly patients for months after they have recovered from their illness. Read More

Neighborhood determinants – represented by census tract data – contribute to the risk of influenza hospitalization and could be used to guide interventions such as vaccinations to high-risk areas. Read More

High dose flu vaccine boosts the immune response in older adults by increasing activation of certain immune cells. Read More

Vanderbilt investigators have discovered how human antibodies induced during testing of an experimental “bird flu” vaccine kill the virus. Read More

A study appearing in the January edition of Pediatrics, led by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, looks at how Nashville children ages 6 months through 5 years fared over 11 consecutive flu seasons concluding in 2010-11. Read More

In an effort to protect both employees and patients at Vanderbilt University Medical Center from potential harm, the Medical Center is revising its influenza vaccination plan and mandating the influenza vaccine for all VUMC employees. Read More

Compounds developed at Vanderbilt University may offer a new way to block influenza infection. Read More

Influenza and parainfluenza infections – but not other respiratory viruses – increase the risk of acquiring pneumococcal bacteria, the most common cause of severe pneumonia. Read More

Vanderbilt research shows that human antibodies to the natural strain of H5N1 also protected against a dangerous lab-created airborne strain developed several years ago by scientists in the Netherlands and at the University of Wisconsin. Read More

Keiron Kennedy, M.D., receives an influenza shot from Sharon Holley, DNP, CNM, during the Flulapalooza mass vaccination event, which took place Wednesday and Thursday.  At the end of the first day, approximately 5,589 staff, faculty, students and volunteers had been vaccinated. (Photo by Joe… Read More

Studies of Flu Tool, a computer application that guides health care decision-making, suggests that patients are willing to use these types of resources. Read More

Viruses that cause acute respiratory infections — such as human metapneumovirus (HMPV) and flu — impair a set of immune system cells that should clear the virus from the lungs. Now, Vanderbilt University investigators have discovered the signaling pathway that disables these immune cells. Read More

Statins, traditionally known as cholesterol-lowering drugs, may reduce mortality among patients hospitalized with influenza, according to a new study released online by The Journal of Infectious Diseases. Read More