Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Japan in the last week of December experienced the biggest influenza outbreak since comparable data became available 25 years ago, health authorities said Thursday.

Bird flu is increasingly sparking concern across the country and in Illinois, following news this week of the first human death from the virus in the U.S., and of birds found throughout Illinois with suspected cases of the illness.

Reports that cases of a flu-like virus called HMPV are rising in China have sparked concern, but experts have dismissed fears that the situation is comparable to the beginnings of COVID-19 five years ago.