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how do we get "discomfort due to weather changes"?
For a thousand years, this problem has fascinated the medical profession. From Hippocrates to Salk, observers of disease have noticed that the disease rises and disappears with the seasons. For example, the flu disappears in the summer
. Late autumn or winter comes back
Due to a new disease, the new crown pneumonia COVID-19
is sweeping the world. Scientists, government departments
and the public all want to know whether
can weaken the power of the virus with the arrival of summer in the northern hemisphere?
There are dozens of other diseases known to be seasonal
in the southwestern United States, rotavirus (causing acute gastroenteritis)
is easily transmitted in the middle of winter
, but in the northeastern United States, the virus prefers to spread in the spring
In China, syphilis seems to like to spread
in winter as well as winter is the spread of hepatitis C in India
Before the invention of the vaccine, polio
was a summer disease in the United States
swimming pools were often closed to prevent the spread of the disease
but only a few Researchers specialize in the seasonality of diseases
and there are many they don’t understand.
A hypothesis that the virus can survive better in certain seasons.
When a flu patient sneezes, the flu virus is scattered in thousands. In the tiny droplets of
researchers suspect that due to seasonal humidity and temperature changes
these droplets will volatilize
at different rates. This and other factors may affect the membrane that wraps the surface of each influenza virus
, that is, the envelope. Another factor of
's vitality may be that people spend less time indoors
in summer
or people’s diet has changed
Micaela Martinez, a
ecologist at Columbia University who studies infectious diseases
is exploring another possibility
What if our immune system changes with the seasons?
Scientists know that this happens in animals.
, a small bird named Shijiao, boosts its immune system during the summer.
kills bacteria before the start of migration.
requires a lot of extra energy.
is a study conducted in humans. It was found that the
flu vaccine can trigger a stronger response when given in the morning than when given in the afternoon,
, which indicates that the immune system has a circadian rhythm,
, which is affected by melatonin. The level of the hormone
increases at night.
Martinez established a research base at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom
. Here, a unique laboratory allows her to monitor changes in the human body under strict
controlled light conditions.
In December, 12 male and female subjects Come to the laboratory to report to
Researchers wipe their noses with swabs
screen 16 different respiratory viruses
each of them has their own temperature-controlled room
They will stay in the room for 24 hours under dim light
On this day, researchers repeatedly take blood samples
Researchers hope to understand how different light in the four seasons affects the immune cells
in different people
and the changes in the number and position of immune cells in the body
how the body's ability to fight different diseases
So about COVID-19, what can the science of disease seasonality
tell us?
Unfortunately, nothing can tell us that the new disease
only appeared in December last year.
Scientists say it is too early to judge whether it is seasonal
Other coronaviruses that can cause colds are indeed infected in winter. However, these viruses have been circulating in humans for a long time. Since COVID-19 is a brand new disease, no one is immune to
. So, even in summer,Conditions become unsuitable for the virus to survive
This virus may continue to spread
Hopefully it will spread at a relatively low level
Because we still know very little about the seasonal effects of infectious diseases
It takes time to understand the facts
