Influenza Main Page

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Influenza (flu) is a viral infection that can be serious and even fatal. It can be prevented with immunization and treated with antivirals. IDSA focuses on both seasonal and pandemic flu.

What's True About the Flu

Patients
Press

What To Know About: Influenza (FLU)External Link

Don’t let conFLUsion keep you from protecting yourself from the flu. Learn the vital ways you can be proactive this flu season with the IDSA Foundation’s latest public wellness initiative.

What is Seasonal Influenza?

Seasonal influenza, a contagious respiratory illness, strikes every year—affecting 5 to 20 percent of the U.S. population annually.

Pandemic influenza is a global outbreak. An influenza pandemic occurs when a new flu virus emerges for which humans have little or no immunity, which allows the virus to spread easily from person to person worldwide.

US Gov Flu InformationExternal Link

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has provided a large amount of flu information for the public.

Did low vaccination rates help make the last flu season so deadly?External Link

In this NBC News story, IDSA member, Bill Schaffner, MD, FIDSA explains that early reports last season that the vaccine was not highly effective may have kept people from getting vaccinated, contributing to the most deadly flu season in decades.

Flu After 65: Your Doctor May Miss It External Link

IDSA members Keipp Talbot, MD, FIDSA and Amesh Adalja, MD, FIDSA, explain in this U.S. News & World Report story that flu symptoms in seniors may differ from younger patients, leading doctors to miss the diagnosis.

Flu Shots Too Soon? External Link

Matt Zahn, MD, FIDSA talks with Huffington Post about the right time to get the flu vaccine.

How to Tell if You Need Emergency Flu Treatment External Link

Flu expert, Andy Pavia, MD, FIDSA talks with Consumer Reports about how to tell the difference between normal flu symptoms and those that should send you to the doctor’s office or even the emergency room.