Atmospheric scientists found 60 per cent of influenza outbreaks over a 31-year period occurred after an arid spell.

She died in 1927 during the influenza outbreaks of the 1920s.

When influenza outbreaks occur, medications such as amantadine or rimantadine may help prevent the condition.

Their numbers are thought to have declined precipitously following post-contact disease epidemics in the 1940s, and have not rebounded due high infant mortality rates and periodic influenza outbreaks.

They tested for antibody levels against nine different influenza strains that circulated from 1968 to 2009.

When any animal becomes infected with two different influenza strains at the same time, these can swap genes to create an entirely new virus with unpredictable qualities.

The last two pandemics, in 1957 and 1968, involved influenza strains derived from birds.

Vaccination of these workers against influenza and surveillance for new influenza strains among this population may therefore be an important public health measure.

Most influenza strains can be inactivated easily by disinfectants and detergents.

Despite careful planning, the national influenza vaccination programme went wrong from the outset.

In a study of forty matched nursing homes, staff influenza vaccination rates were 69.9% in the vaccination arm versus 31.8% in the control arm.

Other recommendations include: influenza vaccination once a year, pneumococcal vaccination once every 5 years, and reduction in exposure to environmental air pollution.

Medical services offer basic care and education, on-site treatment, health consultations, referrals, and free influenza vaccinations during the flu season.

There were only five cases noted that might have been associated with influenza vaccinations over a span of eighteen years.