State health officials think they've found a way to deliver information to the youthful masses: text messaging.

With the H1N1 flu virus disproportionately striking younger people, the state Department of Public Health is looking to harness the popularity of cell phones and text messaging to make it easier for people to get vaccinated.

By tapping "No Flu" and their ZIP codes into an iPhone or any other text-capable cell phone, those looking to get vaccinated against the so-called swine flu can find out where to go for a shot. » read more

Swine flu disproportionately hits the young and the asthmatic, the pregnant and the diabetic.

A federal study says American Indians also are at high risk.

American Indians and Alaska Natives are four times more likely to die from H1N1 than all other ethnic groups combined, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study that looked at the indigenous population in 12 states, representing half of America's total. » read more

RALEIGH, N.C. _ As health departments battle the H1N1 flu virus, North Carolina health workers worry that another epidemic may be brewing - one for a sexually transmitted disease that had almost disappeared from the state 10 years ago.

Cases of syphilis in the state have nearly doubled in the past year: 684 in the first nine months, compared to 359 cases for the same period a year earlier.

Numbers are up across almost all age and racial groups, including teenage girls and blacks - groups already disproportionately affected by STDs. » read more

WASHINGTON — The federal government's preparedness for the H1N1, or swine flu, pandemic that's claimed far more than 1,000 lives nationwide was inadequate and incomplete, a congressional subcommittee said Tuesday.

Both Democratic and Republican members of the subcommittee stopped short of blaming President Barack Obama's administration, but they made it clear that they expect improved handling of the pandemic in the near future. The House of Representatives panel was the Homeland Security subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity & Science and Technology.

The panel's hearing came in the wake of Obama declaring last Friday that the swine flu outbreak is a national emergency, a procedural move that allows health care providers to speed treatment. » read more

If swine flu sneezes, will health care reform catch a cold?

Like anxious doctors in an emergency room, health system stakeholders are now trying to answer that question, carefully taking the public's temperature while watching for warning signs of anger or frustration over the government response to the H1N1 virus.

The concern: Long lines and vaccine shortages could convince millions of Americans — and one or two crucial members of Congress — that a Washington that can't deliver flu shots can't deliver health care reform either. » read more

FORT WORTH, Tex. -- Andrea Samples knew that her daughter’s flu wasn't typical when the 15-year-old's hands and feet went numb.

Jessica Samples' flu started on Sept. 26 with a backache. As it grew worse, the high school sophomore had labored breathing and became restless. Eventually, after she was seen twice by doctors at a clinic and emergency room, she was admitted to Cook Children's Medical Center.

She had the H1N1 virus -- swine flu -- and relatives worried that she wouldn't survive. » read more