Winter is cold, flu and COVID-19 season, but low humidity, not frigid temperatures, may be to blame.
“When you’re outdoors, you’re in the ultimate well-ventilated space,” says David Fisman, an epidemiologist at the University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Viruses exhaled outside are diluted quickly with clean air.
But there is more to the story, says Benjamin Bleier, a specialist for sinus and nasal disorders at Harvard Medical School.To drive the seasonal pattern we see year after year, something else must be going on too to make people more susceptible to infection and increase the amount of virus circulating, he says.Some viruses thrive in winter. But the reason why may not be so much about temperature, but humidity.
Viruses aren’t usually floating around naked, Marr says. They are encased in droplets of fluid, such as saliva. Those droplets also have bits of mucus, proteins, salt and other substances in them. Those other components may determine if the virus survives drying.such as influenza A and SARS-CoV-2, Marr and colleagues reported July 27 in a preprint at bioRxiv.org.
What’s more, dry air can tear down some of people’s defenses against viruses. Studies in animals suggest thatlining the airways. That could leave cracks where viruses can invade. The bubbles work as a diversionary tactic, a bit like chaff being released from a military jet trying to avoid a heat-seeking missile, Bleier says. Viruses may go after the vesicles instead of infecting cells.
Indonesia Berita Terbaru, Indonesia Berita utama
Similar News:Anda juga dapat membaca berita serupa dengan ini yang kami kumpulkan dari sumber berita lain.
Winter of discontent: Why Britain is facing the worst strikes since 1970Country could face additional strikes by workers over a salary dispute after talks between ministers and trade unions failed to put a halt to a wave of work stoppages.
Baca lebih lajut »
COVID-19 showing signs of winter spikeU.S. flu season is still in full swing, but as rates for that virus trend down, the number of COVID-19 cases is ticking up.
Baca lebih lajut »
Why COVID’s XBB.1.5 ‘Kraken’ Variant Is So ContagiousA new variant of the virus that causes COVID has mutations that make it more transmissible, but vaccines are still likely to protect against severe disease
Baca lebih lajut »
COVID omicron subvariant XBB: Why the number of cases is likely far greater than reportedThe omicron subvariant X.BB1.5 is considered the most easily transmissible subvariant so far, Dr. Marc Siegel, a Fox News medical contributor, told Fox News Digital — plus other key points.
Baca lebih lajut »
Low-cost airline to offer European flights from Hamilton, but there's a catchLow-cost airline to offer European flights from Hamilton, but there's a catch — via financialpost
Baca lebih lajut »