What You Need to Know About Shingles and How to Protect Yourself
If you had chickenpox as a child, the virus that caused it never actually left your body. It stayed inactive in your nerve tissue, quietly waiting. For some people, that virus comes back later in life and causes shingles, a painful condition that affects around one million Americans every year. Ask anyone who has had […]
There’s a diphtheria outbreak in Australia. Here’s how to check if your vaccines are up to date
Australia’s current diphtheria outbreak may have you wondering how best to protect yourself — and your family — from this and other preventable diseases, such as measles. The first step is to check that you’re up-to-date with your vaccinations, according to Katherine Gibney, infectious diseases physician and principal research fellow at Doherty Institute. “It’s a […]
How to limit the spread of COVID, cold and flu at home in winter
Winter can be a contagious time of year for everything from COVID-19 to the common cold. Once someone in your household feels the first ominous tickle at the back of their throat, everyone else can feel doomed to follow. “It’s always a challenge within households because we know households are the place where viruses like […]
How to avoid measles, one of the world’s most contagious viruses
Measles immunisation rates are “suboptimal” in many parts of the US and Europe. ADVERTISEMENT Measles is raising concerns among public health experts after an unvaccinated child died in a US outbreak that has infected more than 150 people. Cases of the preventable virus are continuing to rise in the US state of Texas, but measles […]