Previous Flu-U Features

Were you contacted by the REDI-US Study about getting tested for influenza this season?  Did your healthcare provider test you for influenza?  Are you curious about how this test worked and how something that looked like a Q-tip could tell whether you were sick with influenza?  If so, click here to read information about the rapid influenza test used by the REDI-US Study.

Do you have all the products you need to keep yourself healthy during cold and flu season?  Many of these products can be found at your local drug store, hardware store, or supermarket.  Click here for details.

This week’s Flu-U Feature is a quick reminder about the duration of time you should be following the recommended behaviors described on Flu-U.  Following these recommendations will help keep you, and others around you, healthy during this cold and flu season. Click here for detailed information on “when, how much, and how long” you should be practicing certain behavior.

Are you curious about the science behind being infected with the influenza virus and transmitting it to other people?  Click here for a scientific description of how viruses like influenza are spread.

Are you curious about how long you are contagious with influenza if you have been infected with the flu?  A study was recently published which compared these types of data from many different studies.  Click here for more information about influenza contagiousness.

Are you interested in having a Quick List of tips available to keep yourself healthy this cold and flu season?  Click here to read the Top 5 things you should know about keeping yourself and those around you healthy this cold and flu season.

Are you feeling sick as a dog, but don't know if you're dealing with a cold or the flu?  It may be difficult to distinguish whether you have a cold or the flu, but there can be differences. Click here for more information.

The current influenza season is "showing signs of becoming a tough one," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported recently. Click here to read more about this year's influenza season and learn how you can keep yourself healthy.

Did you receive a flu shot this year? The influenza vaccine (shot or nasal spray) is a good measure to help prevent annual influenza, and helps reduce the risk of severe illness. However, even if you got a shot this year, you should still practice the Wash, Cover, Wear steps listed on this site in order to protect yourself and others from influenza. Click here to find out why! 

Did you know that more than just colds and flu can be prevented by the use of appropriate hand hygiene?  Washing your hands can help protect you from many other diseases and illnesses, including gastrointestinal illnesses, Hepatitis A, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), as well as the many viruses that can cause respiratory illnesses.  Click here to view examples of these disease-causing agents.

Have you been curious about the effectiveness of using alcohol-based hand sanitizer or hand rub?  This picture illustrates the "before" and "after" use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer.  Notice the significant reduction of bacterial growth on the culture plate to the right after the use of hand sanitizer! 

Image courtesy of the Hand Hygiene Resource Center.

4 out of 5 people wash their hands in the restroom.  Let's talk to the fifth guy.

Video courtesy of the Florida Department of Health.

Is influenza circulating in your community?

Find out here: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/fluactivity.htm

Watch this funny video starring the office cougher!

Video courtesy of the Florida Department of Health.

Interested in learning more about the influenza pandemic of 1918?

Here's a great website that has information about the pandemic, including information about its effect in your home state.

Viruses that cause respiratory diseases can be transmitted to other people in many ways. Transmission can occur through direct contact with respiratory secretions, such as shaking hands with someone who has coughed or sneezed into their hands, then touching your eyes, nose, or mouth; indirect contact, such as touching something that an ill person previously touched (for example, a doorknob); and through the air in respiratory droplets.

If so, check out this funny video from the Florida Department of Health.  Makes you wonder what Michael Scott would do...

Video courtesy of the Florida Department of Health.

"The purpose of this video is to make coughing into one's sleeve fashionable, even patriotic!"

Click here to view the video.

Video courtesy of OtoRhinoLounsburgology Productions.

"92% of guys say they washed. 34% were lying."

You never know who could be watching!