Human cases of bird flu are no longer unheard of, but the latest case is especially catching the attention of global health officials — it's the first infection with a new strain.

Americans might get a flu vaccine to avoid getting sick, but they might not consider the large scale outcome of this decision — the millions of flu cases across the country avoided through vaccination.

While going without flu vaccination can mean risking an unpleasant few days of sickness for most, it can mean risking major illness and hospital time for those with certain conditions.

Shortly after US health officials took the precaution of approving a vaccine for the H5N1 bird flu strain, another strain is causing concerns for a different nation.

Talk of bird flu may make people a little nervous. So many will likely be relieved to hear that the US government has approved a vaccine to protect against one strain of the virus.

Sometimes it's easy to forget how common many diseases were before vaccines for them were introduced. When the disease is not around, people may not notice as much.

In 2009, there were concerns across the world about the H1N1 flu. It turns out that, overall, death rates from this flu pandemic weren't worse than those of other flu seasons — at least for some.

One of the best ways to avoid the flu is to get the annual flu vaccine. Yet many children will still get the flu each year and possibly need hospitalization. Can antivirals help?

Bird flu is often talked about as if it's one disease, but there are a variety of avian influenza strains, some of which have been discovered in humans and some of which have only been seen in birds. The authors of a new study took a close look at the first reported human patient with the H6N1 bird flu strain.

The flu is a very common illness that affects all different types of people. But it may be more dangerous for some.