Roles of Humidity and Temperature in Shaping Influenza Seasonality

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Anice Carmen Lowen, Emory University; John Steel, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2014-07-01
• Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2014, American Society for Microbiology.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/JVI.03544-13
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Journal of Virology
• ISSN: 0022-538X
• Volume: 88
• Issue: 14
• Start Page: 7692
• End Page: 7695
• Grant/Funding Information: Research in the authors' laboratories is supported by the NIH under grant R01 AI099000 (to A.C.L.) and the Center for Excellence in Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS) contract number HHSN272201400004C (to J.S. and A.C.L.).
• Keywords: Life Sciences & Biomedicine; GUINEA-PIG; VIRUS; Virology; TRANSMISSION; Science & Technology; VIROLOGY; SURVIVAL; RELATIVE-HUMIDITY; EPIDEMICS; ABSOLUTE-HUMIDITY
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Immunology

Abstract

Experimental studies in guinea pigs demonstrated that influenza virus transmission is strongly modulated by temperature and humidity. A number of epidemiological studies have followed up on these findings and revealed robust associations between influenza incidence in temperate regions and local conditions of humidity and temperature, offering a long-awaited explanation for the wintertime seasonality of influenza in these locales. Despite recent progress, important questions remain as to the mechanism(s) by which humidity and/or temperature affects transmission. © 2014, American Society for Microbiology.