Â鶹ŮÓÅ

Scientists and public health authorities are expressing alarm about an extraordinary surge in bird flu infections among humans. The H7N9 bird flu virus, which has sickened and killed several hundred people in China for the past four winters, had seemed over the past couple of years to be diminishing as a threat. But a resurgent wave of activity this winter has produced more than a third of all infections recorded since the first human case was hospitalized in February 2013. And with this large burst of cases, H7N9 has overtaken another bird flu, H5N1, which has been causing sporadic human infections at least a decade longer than H7N9. (Branswell, 2/28)

The percentage of hospital visits for influenza symptoms reported by the U.S. Outpatient Influenza-like Illness Surveillance Network is on the rise, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is encouraging everyone 6 months and older to get vaccinations if they have not done so in the past six months. It takes two weeks after vaccination for your body to build up antibodies to protect you from the viruses. (Snibbe, 2/28)

As the region rolls through the flu season, hospitals in Greater Cincinnati are limiting visitors to cut down on the spread of respiratory diseases to patients... The hospitals that are limiting visitors are asking that anyone ill with any respiratory symptoms including coughing, sneezing, runny nose or fever refrain from coming to the hospital. Anyone younger than 14 also is asked to stay away until after the flu season passes. (Saker, 2/28)