Infectious Disease

Public health officials were surprised last year when the dominant strain of circulating flu mutated after the flu vaccine had been formulated. The current version looks like a better match.

The Heartland virus was considered rare. Scientists now say they've found signs of it circulating in animals across the Midwest, New England and the South. They think human cases have been missed.

Outbreaks reported across the country this summer are not related; it doesn't spread among people. Instead, it's spread in warm water, like that in building cooling towers.

To investigate whether norovirus particles might form an infectious aerosol spray when a sick person vomits, researchers built a simulator that uses Jell-O instant pudding in explosive experiments.

A year ago, West Africa was reporting more than 500 new Ebola cases each week. This week, the region had just three. Could the epidemic finally be grinding to a halt?

Yes, health officials in Florida have reported nine cases of leprosy so far this year. And yes, armadillos can transmit leprosy. But scientists say we needn't fear the armored mammals.

If the bill passes out of the Legislature, the bill would then move to the desk of Gov. Jerry Brown. He hasn't indicated whether he'll sign the bill.

When Middle East respiratory syndrome erupted in South Korea, people started wearing masks everywhere, even at weddings. So how good are these masks at stopping MERS or even the flu?

When 17-year-old Raymond Wang read about how easily some diseases spread on planes, he thought airlines could do better. So he went to work — and won $75,000 at the International Science Fair.