That pretty much says it all. Anyone?
Just a guess. One reason would be that people tend to keep indoors in closer contact with each other during Winter and thereby get more exposed.
That’s what I thought too, however, if you don’t go out as much, isn’t there less opportunity to pick up a bug to begin with?
It’s an open debate.
But… from New Scientist:
There is no one reason why we get more colds and flu in winter. The rhinovirus, which is responsible for up to 40 per cent of colds, cuitures better at a temperature of 32 °C rather than the normal body temperature of 37 °C. However, 32 °C is the normal temperature of the lining of the nose, which is good news for the virus.
We do tend to be indoors more often in poorly ventilated areas during the winter and this aids the airborne transmission of viruses. Similarly, ultraviolet will kill viruses and this may be another factor.
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And this **must read *from Science Daily:
Good info in that link above.
Excellent link! Thanks, Philster!
So, is the challenge how to make the nasal cavity a more hostile environment for these little blighters, or can they survive just as well if inhaled down your throat?
Did you miss all the hype about saline nasal solutions? That makes it ‘hostile’ for germs.
Aside from being more indoors, cold air dries our nasal passages. This makes them more vulnerable to viruses.
It is also been hypothesized that vitamin D deficiency in the winter from lack of sun affects the immune system.
Can I snort cocaine instead?
But flu also circulates in tropical parts of the world, where it doesn’t get cold in the winter. How to explain that?
And H1N1 spread just fine in warmer weather.
It simply spreads faster in the cold.
It spreads off season and in warm climates, because in its weakened state it’s not powerless. H1N1 is spreading well enough in the warm that it is scaring the bajeebers out of people about how lethal it might be during the actual flu season.
Hence the threads on it as flu season approaches.
I think the deal is, most flu viruses survive better because of a sort of “coat” that forms in colder weather:
http://www.injuryboard.com/national-news/flu-virus-needs-winter-coat-to-survive.aspx?googleid=29918
For some reason, H1N1 survives to spread despite that coating, hence its prevalence even before colder weather.
Maybe that’s why boogers are salty…
You would know.