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45 Comments
- Maxmaxxwell, on 02/10/2009, -2/+36Title says the flu mystery is solved, yet the description says they 'may have the answer'.
Which one is it? - chokoboii, on 02/10/2009, -1/+16Dugg for not saying that the flu is spread by weak immune system, caused by cold temperatures.
- SirvenomItsac, on 02/10/2009, -2/+11also you tend to spend more time indoors in winter, giving the virus more time to infect other people..
- davecachia, on 02/10/2009, -1/+10I always wondered.. that does make sense, however.
- Darmichar, on 02/10/2009, -2/+10Welcome to sensationalist Digg headlines, where 'may have the answer' == 'mystery is solved'
Apparently it's much easier to get to the FP if you lie, cheat and have a large circle jerk of friends you are shouting to. - ReeferChiefer42, on 02/10/2009, -4/+11I always felt that low absolute humidity may have contributed to it, but I never said anything because I'm not a scientist and haven't studied it. But alas, my hunch was right! Spending more time indoors and closer to each other for longer also helps make winter the flu season, but everyone already knows that I suppose.
- bazik, on 02/10/2009, -0/+6of course you did
- moduc, on 02/10/2009, -0/+5The suggestion to raise the humidity in hospital is dangerous. The reason is that we don't know how the low humidity causes the spread. From the article, it says there is a high probably link, but not a cause. Here's some reason it maybe the case:
1) Low humidity causes people's skin (especial the breath air way) to crack like lips in the winter. These opening invites infections.
The implication is that lower humidity in hospital may not help people moving inside from the outside condition. It may help for those staying long term inside. I want to point out that the effect of humidity may take longer term to work than just a few seconds of the spread of the virus.
So, if that is the case, higher humidity may help spread other viruses.
2) Lower humidity on the outside + high humidity air from people's lung => exhale air from sick people migrate out faster due to different moister content. This means it spread the virus faster before it dies in the air. - digitalArtform, on 02/10/2009, -0/+4"One really key question is how much influenza is transmitted in tropical locations"—places with high absolute humidity year-round—"and how this compares to temperate parts of the world," he said.
"A satisfactory explanation would not only explain the seasonal cycles in temperate areas, but also the much less seasonal, but still substantial, burden of influenza that seems to be present in the tropics."
-- so they still really have no idea. - 11oops, on 02/10/2009, -0/+4All good points which, when combined with your previous comment, make much more sense than your first comment alone. I retract my statement.
- diggduggjoe, on 02/10/2009, -0/+4I doubt it, for the correlation between latitude and the flu remains.
- Eugenis, on 02/10/2009, -0/+3Winter time isn't for flu! It's for ski, snowboard, etc...
I like sport and flu dislikes me ;) - subtillus, on 02/10/2009, -1/+4A few things I left out:
There is a kinetics to transmission, if incubation is 2-10 days, window of infection is only a few days. So, this isn't an inelastic instantaneous event. Previous years' immunity can be somewhat crossprotective too. There is inertia in flu epidemics unless there is total antigenic shift.
Besides, there is a lot of flu being passed around those months. The seasonality is also replicated in warmer climates (see the article!) further suggesting that the above has more to do with kids than absolute temperatures.
Also central is that during colder seasons we stay inside a lot more. So there is a compounding effect as the virus has more opportunity to spread during the window of opportunity when the infected sheds most virus.
I would also suggest (though this is conjecture, unlike the other stuff which is textbook and well known), that the winter dry air and heating would lead to more dry eyes/skin which people will rub more often. This is the primary site of infection for flu, so that should account for something. - YuanHao, on 02/10/2009, -0/+3I don't know... I live in a tropical climate (Costa Rica) and flu gets spread a lot faster when it rains (infinite humidity), NOT when the air is dryer.
Anyway, glad to know that Digg is discovering the world's mysteries and curing cancer yet again =D - subtillus, on 02/10/2009, -3/+5This is not very genuine.
As someone trained in the field, I can say that this is not a mystery. The secret ingredient is children.
In the winter, kids go back to school, they put things in their mouths, ears, noses and eyes. This pucks up virus and infects them or their friends. They go on to infect their parents, their parents go in to work and infect their colleagues.
Wash, rinse, repeat. - stormofswords, on 02/11/2009, -0/+2So you went to his profile to look for "dirt" on him, and that was the best you came up with?
Do digg a favor and delete your account. - zip000, on 02/10/2009, -0/+2Pretty often.
But I think there are also mild cases of the flu as well. - Julian88888888, on 02/10/2009, -0/+2"The researchers do not know exactly what it is about low absolute humidity that the flu virus likes. But they suggest that absolute humidity levels be raised in buildings such as hospitals and medical clinics where the disease most often spreads."
^ do that ! - 6oo63D, on 02/12/2009, -0/+1Yeah, same for my country too (Nigeria). I know... I know... *facepalm*
- roostersheep, on 02/10/2009, -0/+1I guess we'll never know. It's not like I'm going to click the link.
/No sarcasm what-so-ever, really. - ReeferChiefer42, on 02/10/2009, -0/+1It makes sense and doesn't take a genius to at least suspect it as playing a factor...
- whimmel, on 02/10/2009, -1/+2How often do people get the common cold and call it "the flu"?
- bazik, on 02/10/2009, -2/+3i was also disappointed, misleading title!
- kristov, on 02/10/2009, -0/+1So - in the future super high tech buildings and schools should have some additional humidifier capacity built into the air conditioners?
- DangQuesadilla, on 02/12/2009, -0/+1Um....okay so they're saying it's because it's dry in the winter. How did they come to that conclusion? Why does dryness affect the viruses? No real questions have been answered. They're just guessing.
Viruses in general are still kicking our ass. We have never cured one. - 6oo63D, on 02/12/2009, -0/+1Related: in an study in which some subjects had their legs placed in cold water for extended periods of time, this group was found to be more likely to catch the cold than the control group
- inactive, on 02/11/2009, -0/+1no. not at all.
- 6oo63D, on 02/12/2009, -0/+1Most cases of common cold (acute nasopharyngitis) terminate within a week, with milder symptoms such as low grade fever...
Influenza lasts for more than 1-2 weeks and the signs and symptoms are more serious. Yep, 'flu is an overdiagnosed infection. - subtillus, on 02/11/2009, -0/+1Thanks.
The internet wins again! - MattB123, on 02/11/2009, -0/+1Or a stomach bug which could be viral or some kind of food poisoning? "Stomach flu" is not actually influenza but it seems many people do not make this distinction.
- felixnutter, on 02/11/2009, -0/+0I thought it was more people eating loads over the holidays then the return to work having plumped up making them more prone to illness. It is strange how some new "killer" strain of "bird / Asian / African" flu occurs each Janury.
- realunderdog, on 02/11/2009, -1/+1I'm not a Doctor...However it has been my experience.....forget it.
- elliotys, on 02/11/2009, -1/+1OSU FTW!
- jarcaf, on 02/10/2009, -0/+0Cool. i just read this in the OSU newspaper in my last class and I was thinking "No wonder newspapers suck so much... there's no way to digg out the good stuff and bury the crap". Then low and behold, digg finds the good story anyways! Go Beavs!
Oh, and something like a fifth of all classes are cancelled by sick teachers right now. Big outbreak on campus. Probably has something to do with the big dry-streak we just had for the last month. - inactive, on 02/11/2009, -0/+0I always thought it was caused by people keeping their windows shut during the winter, so germs and unfresh air are kept indoors.
- sKiLLa182, on 02/11/2009, -1/+1That was always my view too. The old saying "Get inside or you'll catch a cold" seems detrimental. It wasn't the temperature causing the sickness, it was being huddled in doors with people and lower air circulation. Of course, there's always the argument that temperature extremes is hard on your body and immune system. For example, you're in a heated building, maybe sweating, then you walk outside in the freezing cold, scrape off your car, drive home, then get back in a warm house.
If the humidity thing is true, then that only adds to making a great flu season. - inactive, on 02/11/2009, -0/+0Asians celebrating the chinese new year maybe?
- misternils, on 02/10/2009, -2/+1Old news, I read this a year ago (different source).
- 11oops, on 02/10/2009, -4/+2Same with September, October, April and May? Funny, but not a lot of the flu virus being passed along in those months.
- TheMachine1, on 02/10/2009, -4/+1Interesting this may crush the vitamin D /sunlight hypothesis.
- mitzuzake, on 02/10/2009, -4/+1Or there's your strategy: have only 2 friends and make just 2 submissions in almost 3 years. Oh yeah, also whine a lot. Sounds like a plan!
- nealdd, on 02/10/2009, -5/+1So why do people in the tropics get the flu?
- maybe because all the old people live in Fla. LOL - vanishedlight, on 02/10/2009, -7/+2pretty sure this isn't new, just take a bio or virology class
easy way to explain it
flu virus has a fatty layer around it
cold will keep the fat nice and solid and make it last longer outside the human body
heat will "melt" that layer right off and the virus won't last as long - inactive, on 02/10/2009, -5/+0Nah!.. it is the conditioning. Everyone expects (unconsciously) they will catch flu when it is cold. So you get it.
- WhiteSquall57, on 02/10/2009, -9/+1This is ***** stupid, the flu is more prominent in the winter cause its really ***** cold and peoples immune systems shut down trying to keep their bodies warm.
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