On March 9, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that “from the evidence so far, the COVID-19 virus can be transmitted in all areas, including areas with hot and humid weather” 5. However, in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, there is still scant evidence in support of this hypothesis 4. Rather, the higher temperatures and more intense UV radiation in summer are likely to support public health measures to contain SARS-CoV-2. However, our results do not imply that the disease will vanish during summer or will not affect countries close to the equator. According to our results, countries are expected to see a decline in new COVID-19 cases during summer and a resurgence during winter. Since the change in Earth’s angle towards the sun between equinox and solstice is about 23.5°, one could expect a difference in cases per million inhabitants of 64% between two hypothetical countries whose climates differ to a similar extent as two adjacent seasons. Our results imply that a country, which is located 1000 km closer to the equator, could expect 33% fewer cases per million inhabitants. A one-degree increase in absolute latitude is associated with a 4.3% increase in cases per million inhabitants as of Janu(p value < 0.001). We regress the logarithm of confirmed COVID-19 cases per million inhabitants in a country against the country’s distance from the equator, controlling for key confounding factors: air travel, vehicle concentration, urbanization, COVID-19 testing intensity, cell phone usage, income, old-age dependency ratio, and health expenditure. Scientists disagree how to interpret this observation because the relationship between COVID-19 and climatic conditions may be confounded by many factors. Adults infected with RSV usually develop nothing more than cold-like symptoms, but elderly adults should be on the lookout for more severe issues, like dehydration or trouble breathing.Visual inspection of world maps shows that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is less prevalent in countries closer to the equator, where heat and humidity tend to be higher. Mild symptoms like a runny nose, coughing and sneezing aren’t cause for alarm, he says-but if a child has trouble breathing, is very lethargic or can’t keep down food or water, they should see a doctor. “All the instructions we give to parents winter after winter apply this summer,” he says.Īt the top of that list is monitoring symptoms. That’s no reason for parents to panic, Antoon says. Coming off a year when few children got RSV during its usual season, infections may spike “at times when they would normally not be present, presumably because a little bit of the immunity in the whole community was not reinforced by exposure,” he says. Richard Malley, a senior physician in pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital. “These viruses don’t disappear in the summer they’re just much, much lower in frequency,” explains Dr. But babies who were born during or shortly before the pandemic may not have encountered RSV as they usually would have, meaning they’re extra susceptible to it now. Typically, the CDC says, almost all children catch RSV in their first two years of life. After that, your body knows what it’s up against and is better at fighting it off. You’re likely to have the worst reaction to a pathogen the first time you see it.
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