Why some viruses die out in summer?

Why some viruses die out in summer?

By Mark Kaufman | 2020-05-21 09:30:00 UTC

It’s increasingly clear that summer won’t quell the new coronavirus.

(Sorry.)The preponderance of research suggests warmer weather might have a small impact on slowing the spread of coronavirus, but the summer itself certainly won’t end the historic pandemic. We’re going to be living with this new, circulating virus — which has no proven medical treatments nor a vaccine — throughout this year and beyond, though exactly how long is unknown.

Why, however, do different viruses “prefer” different seasons, or become significantly more transmissible in summer or winter? There’s no simple answer, and big unknowns remain, but there are some important factors.”The million-dollar question is why they behave differently,” said David Mushatt, the infectious disease section chief at Tulane University School of Medicine.

It’s well known that the flu virus is most common during the fall and winter, and fizzles out over summer (but you can still catch it during summer). Rhinoviruses (which cause the common cold), infect most people in cooler months, too. Meanwhile, an entire family of viruses, called enteroviruses, infect most people during summer, sickening 10 to 15 million Americans annually with a variety of illnesses.

One explanation is that viruses with a certain type of shell, made out of fats (known as lipids), are more susceptible to heat, explained Mushatt. For example, flu viruses and coronaviruses have fatty exteriors. “Lipid shells are weaker,” said Siobain Duffy, who researches the evolution of viruses at Rutgers University. “That makes them easier to kill.” The flu, which has a more brittle shell, infects fewer people during the summer.

There’s also compelling evidence that the influenza virus loses some of its ability to infect people when it travels through humid air (which is common in the summer).

The new coronavirus, too, may fall apart more rapidly when exposed to heat and humidity this summer, say on a door knob or handrail. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the novel coronavirus didn’t survive as well on surfaces outdoors,” said Mushatt. This could decrease the likelihood of someone touching a surface and potentially becoming infected. “But that won’t stop someone from giving it to someone else,” he emphasized, referencing how the virus can easily be passed directly between people in close contact, even just by talking.

When it comes to new human viruses (like this coronavirus, also called SARS-CoV-2, that only leaped from animals to humans some five months ago) the seasons and climate take a backseat to the reality that humans are really susceptible to this novel pathogen. That’s because most of us have no immunity to SARS-CoV-2, and a vaccine is likely at best a year to 18 months away. So no matter what climate folks inhabit, they’re highly susceptible to becoming infected with this coronavirus.

“It has everyone on the planet to attack,” said Dan Janies, a professor of bioinformatics at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte who researches viruses.

If people get arrogant and casual about this pandemic, you will see the infection rate go up. It’s that simple. — Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) May 20, 2020

SARS-COV-2 virus particles (pink) infecting a human cell.

SARS-COV-2 virus particles (pink) infecting a human cell.

Image: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases / nih

Coronavirus, for example, has been spreading and killing in hot parts of the world, like Brazil, Ecuador, Indonesia, and the Dominican Republic.

“The virus has just run rampant in Brazil,” said Janies, noting the nation’s challenges to control the virus. “SARS-CoV-2 can certainly transmit in warm, summer-like conditions.”

The new coronavirus, with its weaker, fatty shell, may break down more rapidly in warm and humid environs, but that Achilles’ Heel becomes relatively unimportant when the virus is allowed to easily leap from person to person when people don’t social distance — especially in indoor places where groups of people are talking or socializing.

“This is a virus that we know is very happy to take advantage of people being careless,” Dr. Vince Silenzio, an M.D. and professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health, told Mashable last week.

So the dominant factor that will quell the spread of the new coronavirus won’t be summer. It will be people’s avoidance of groups and crowded places, because it’s largely unknown who is and isn’t infected. Social distancing, for instance, has dramatically driven down infections in places like New York.

“Social distancing is the major factor that is going to drive an abatement in SARS-CoV-2,” said Janies.

Read More

Categories

  • 16

    At-Home

  • 29

    Business

  • 176

    COVID-19 / Coronavirus

  • 370

    Economy

  • 5

    Education

  • 43

    Entertainment

  • 33

    Environment

  • 9

    Family

  • 0

    FAQ

  • 80

    Frontline Heroes

  • 25

    Government

  • 49

    Handwash Challenge

  • 45

    Healthcare

  • 5

    In Memory Of

  • 4

    Law Enforcement

  • 4

    Medical Equipment

  • 4

    Mental Health

  • 2

    Military

  • 108

    Pandemic

  • 0

    Personal Care

  • 94

    Politics

  • 10

    PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)

  • 33

    Quarantine / Lockdown

  • 13

    Quarantine Art

  • 69

    Quarantivities

  • 1

    Receipes

  • 0

    Relationships

  • 52

    Religion

  • 43

    Safety Tips

  • 10

    Science

  • 129

    Shelter-In-Place

  • 17

    Silver Linings

  • 190

    Social Distancing

  • 6

    Social Justice

  • 1209

    Sports

  • 100

    Technology

  • 887

    Toilet Paper Times

  • 32

    TPT Lexicon

  • 2

    Wildlife

  • 154

    Worldwide

  • TP Times
  • Recent
  • Popular
Mexican rave: the 10 best tequila cocktails – chosen by experts
Quarantivities

Mexican rave: the 10 best tequila cocktails – chosen by experts

  • By  The Toilet Paper Times
A 10-year-old girl has sent more than 1,500 art kits to kids in foster care and homeless shelters during the coronavirus pandemic
Quarantivities

A 10-year-old girl has sent more than 1,500 art kits to kids in foster care and homeless shelters during the coronavirus pandemic

  • By  usa
Mississippi’s Twisted Sisters: TikTok videos during coronavirus go viral
Quarantivities

Mississippi’s Twisted Sisters: TikTok videos during coronavirus go viral

  • By  The Toilet Paper Times
What the Hell Happened This Week? | The Daily Social Distancing Show
Entertainment Quarantivities Social Distancing

What the Hell Happened This Week? | The Daily Social Distancing Show

  • By  video
Coronavirus Update (Live): 99,112,939 Cases and 2,125,106 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic
Toilet Paper Times

Coronavirus Update (Live): 99,112,939 Cases and 2,125,106 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic

  • By  usa
Meghan Markle Speaks with Young Victim
Social Justice

Meghan Markle Speaks with Young Victim

  • By  thetoiletpapertimes@gmail.com
Princess Diana Would Have Been Fighting Institutional Racism
Social Justice

Princess Diana Would Have Been Fighting Institutional Racism

  • By  Gary Schwartz
North Carolina Still Can't Race
Social Distancing Sports

North Carolina Still Can’t Race | Waiting for Judge to Rule

  • By  Gary Schwartz
OCT. 26: DISCUSSING NEPAL WHILE EATING TOILET PAPER
Toilet Paper Times

OCT. 26: DISCUSSING NEPAL WHILE EATING TOILET PAPER

  • By  Toy Le Trolle
How to hang toilet paper
Toilet Paper Times

How to hang toilet paper

  • By  Toy Le Trolle
Cheap Chic Weddings 2009 Toilet Paper Wedding Dress Contest
Toilet Paper Times

Cheap Chic Weddings 2009 Toilet Paper Wedding Dress Contest

  • By  Toy Le Trolle
Cheap Chic Weddings 2009 Toilet Paper Wedding Dress Contest
Toilet Paper Times

Cheap Chic Weddings 2009 Toilet Paper Wedding Dress Contest

  • By  Toy Le Trolle

Tags

activities air pollution Amazon Australia bidet Bundesliga canada China climate change deaths death toll disinfectant English Premier League Europe France funny Germany hydroxychloroquine India Italy Japan kids lockdown Lysol masks New York NYC oil industry ppe prayer quarantine shortages soccer songs Spain stats texas Toilet Paper Trump uk unemployment United Kingdom United States W.H.O. White House briefing