Flu season is right around the corner, and health officials are urging patients to get vaccinated in light of a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that estimates 80,000 Americans died from the flu during the 2017-2018 season.

New guidelines recommend youth who have experienced a concussion return to non-sports activities sooner than previously advised because it can aid in the recovery process.

With the high-profile deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain last week, suicide awareness and prevention is front and center. We discuss what can be done to reduce the numbers and help those in crisis.

A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention details a rise in suicides across the U.S. as news of celebrity suicides takes the headlines.

As the U.S. grapples with opioid addiction, chronic pain patients say the medications they rely on are being reduced and they’re being treated like “junkies.” “We’re not drug addicts,” says a patient with excruciating neuropathic pain.

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds cases of disease from mosquito, tick and flea bites tripled between 2004 and 2016 – and Illinois was among the states most affected.

Are chronic pain patients losing access to opioids? One advocacy group says yes, and now it’s pushing for “more reasonable” guidelines from the CDC on opioid prescriptions.

As more people flock to the backyard poultry trend, the number of salmonella infections are likely to increase, says Illinois Department of Public Health veterinarian Dr. Connie Austin.

Following years of steady decreases, a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a significant rise in teen overdose deaths in 2015. “It’s disappointing,” said Renee Manworren, a local researcher.

“Too many children have died or are traumatized by gun violence,” said Dr. Mark Slidell of Comer Children’s Hospital. “The impact of gun violence on children is a serious public health problem.”

For the first time in more than two decades, American life expectancy is dropping. Is this cause for alarm?

A look at some breakthrough treatments for HIV and AIDS and a landmark clinical trial for a vaccine ahead of World AIDS Day.

The Zika virus has been shown to cause microcephaly and other fetal brain abnormalities. We talk with a local woman, pregnant with her first child, who has been dealing with the terrifying possibility that she and her unborn child may have been exposed to the virus.

The city on Monday morning confirmed the first case of Zika virus. The patient, who was identified as a woman in her 30s, visited Presence Saint Joseph Hospital after returning from a trip to Columbia with symptoms consistent with the virus.

Opioid and heroin overdose deaths hit record levels in 2014, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The alarming rise in heroin deaths has tripled since 2010. "Chicago Tonight" talks about the heroin crisis with the executive director of a treatment facility and the founder of an anti-heroin education and advocacy foundation.

On Monday, the World Health Organization declared the Zika virus an international public health emergency. Dr. Allison Arwady, chief medical officer of the Chicago Department of Public Health, joins us to discuss the virus and the risk it poses to Chicago jet-setters.