Humidity as a non-pharmaceutical intervention for influenza A

Reiman, Jennifer M.; Das, Biswadeep; Sindberg, Gregory M.; Urban, Mark D.; Hammerlund, Madeleine E.M.; Lee, Han B.; Spring, Katie M.; Lyman-Gingerich, Jamie; Generous, Alex R.; Koep, Tyler H.; Ewing, Kevin; Lilja, Phil; Enders, Felicity; Ekker, Stephen C.; Huskins, W. Charles; Fadel, Hind J.; Pierret, Chris

doi:10.1101/273870

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…There also exist some discrepancies between the results current and previous studies. For example, it had been shown that low humidity could increase the viability and thus promote viral transmission [29,46]. However, we failed to observe the role of humidity on COVID-19 incidence.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 65%

Effect of ambient air pollutants and meteorological factors on COVID-19 transmission

Jiang¹,

Xu²,

Dai³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background Since its first appearance in Wuhan China in December 2019, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a worldwide pandemic. Although the COVID-19 is known to cause by human-to-human transmission, it remains largely unclear whether ambient air pollutants and meteorological factors could promote its transmission process. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study to understand the correlation between COVID-19 incidence and eight ambient air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, SO2, CO, NO2, and O3-8 h) and three meteorological variables (temperature, humidity and wind level) in China’s two worst-hit cities, Wuhan and XiaoGan, between Jan 25th to Feb 29th in 2020. Results Our data showed that the COVID-19 incidence was constantly correlated with PM2.5, NO2 and local temperature in both cities. Specifically, in Wuhan, the tightest correlation was observed between NO2 and COVID-19 incidence (R2 = 0.329, p < 0.01). The PM2.5 and CO also present tight correlation with the incidence number, whose R2 equaled 0.174 (p < 0.01) and 0.203 (p < 0.05), respectively. In XiaoGan, in addition to the PM2.5 (R2 = 0.23, p < 0.01) and NO2 (R2 = 0.158, p < 0.05), a notable correlation was also observed between the PM10 and incidence cases (R2 = 0.158, p < 0.05). Moreover, temperature is the only meteorological factors that constantly correlated well with COVID-19 incidence in both Wuhan and XiaoGan, but in a negative pattern (R2 = 0.126 and 0.13, respectively, both p < 0.05). Conclusion Our data concludes that ambient air pollutants, especially PM2.5 and NO2, and temperature are three variables that could potential promote the sustained transmission of COVID-19. Thus, personal protective devices, especially the facial mask and eye goggle, shall be suggested to residents for SARS-CoV-2 protection in highly polluted regions.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 65%

Effect of ambient air pollutants and meteorological factors on COVID-19 transmission

Jiang¹,

Xu²,

Dai³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…And finally, there is also a physiological factor related to RH: Dry air dries out mucous membrane in the nose, which eases the invasion of infectious viruses into the respiratory tract [36][37][38]. A better understanding of the role of RH for virus viability in droplets thus not only helps us understand the droplet spread of infections and seasonality of some viruses, but can also guide our understanding of using humidity as a non-pharmaceutical intervention [39,40]. Outdoor temperature (°C) Fig.…”

Section: Summer Period Monthly Casesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relative humidity in droplet and airborne transmission of disease

Božič,

Kanduč

2020

Preprint

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A large number of infectious diseases is transmitted by respiratory droplets. How long these droplets persist in the air, how far they can travel, and how long the pathogens they might carry survive are all decisive factors for the spread of dropletborne diseases. The subject is extremely multifaceted and its aspects range across different disciplines, yet most of them have only seldom been considered in the physics community. In this review, we discuss the physical principles that govern the fate of respiratory droplets and any viruses trapped inside them, with a focus on the role of relative humidity. Importantly, low relative humidity-as encountered, for instance, indoors during winter and inside aircraft-facilitates evaporation and keeps even initially large droplets suspended in air as aerosol for extended periods of time. What is more, relative humidity affects the stability of viruses in aerosol through several physical mechanisms such as efflorescence and inactivation at the air-water interface, whose role in virus inactivation nonetheless remains poorly understood. Elucidating the role of relative humidity in the droplet spread of disease would permit us to design preventive measures that could aid in reducing the chance of transmission, particularly in indoor environment. Keywords relative humidity • droplets • airborne transmission • viruses 1 IntroductionOne of the prevalent ways in which numerous viruses, bacteria, and fungi spread among plants, animals, and humans is by droplets of various sizes [1][2][3]. Humans produce respiratory droplets during talking, coughing, sneezing, and other similar activ-

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“…In this study of four well‐functioning office buildings, the indoor environment was generally were well controlled. This caused small variation in many IEQ factors, thus limiting the ability to observe significant links between some IEQ factors and physiological outcomes that might be found in other research …”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Policymakers, standards developers, and building design and operations professionals are increasingly interested in indoor environment quality (IEQ) and its effect on occupant health and comfort. Despite several studies revealing the potential negative impact of both too high and too low relative humidity (RH) on health and comfort, the importance of controlling RH has received less attention than other IEQ parameters and lower limits have been removed from thermal comfort standards.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wellbuilt for wellbeing: Controlling relative humidity in the workplace matters for our health

et al. 2019

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This study offers a new perspective on the role of relative humidity in strategies to improve the health and wellbeing of office workers. A lack of studies of sufficient participant size and diversity relating relative humidity (RH) to measured health outcomes has been a driving factor in relaxing thermal comfort standards for RH and removing a lower limit for dry air. We examined the association between RH and objectively measured stress responses, physical activity (PA), and sleep quality. A diverse group of office workers (n = 134) from four well‐functioning federal buildings wore chest‐mounted heart rate variability monitors for three consecutive days, while at the same time, RH and temperature (T) were measured in their workplaces. Those who spent the majority of their time at the office in conditions of 30%‐60% RH experienced 25% less stress at the office than those who spent the majority of their time in drier conditions. Further, a correlational study of our stress response suggests optimal values for RH may exist within an even narrower range around 45%. Finally, we found an indirect effect of objectively measured poorer sleep quality, mediated by stress responses, for those outside this range.

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Humidity as a non-pharmaceutical intervention for influenza A

Cited by 9 publications

References 28 publications

Effect of ambient air pollutants and meteorological factors on COVID-19 transmission

Effect of ambient air pollutants and meteorological factors on COVID-19 transmission

Relative humidity in droplet and airborne transmission of disease

Wellbuilt for wellbeing: Controlling relative humidity in the workplace matters for our health

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