Avoiding the flu could be easier than we thought!

[arlene22 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close arlene22]

No Brainer: You catch the flu in winter


The Study: “Influenza Virus Transmission Is Dependent on Relative Humidity and Temperature,” PLoS Pathogens, October 2007.
The Findings: Experiments on flu-afflicted guinea pigs revealed that the bug spreads most easily at low relative humidities and cold temperatures, with the highest transmissions at 41 F and a humidity of 35 percent or less.
Why Bother? Because the flu may be easy to avoid. Scientists have long assumed that indoor crowding in winter was what spread it. But this study suggests that the flu just lives longest in dry, cold conditions. So close the window. The flu, writes Anice Lowen of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, could be fought off “by simply maintaining room air at warm temperatures and either intermediate or high relative humidities.”

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

No Brainer: You catch the flu in winter


The Study: “Influenza Virus Transmission Is Dependent on Relative Humidity and Temperature,” PLoS Pathogens, October 2007.
The Findings: Experiments on flu-afflicted guinea pigs revealed that the bug spreads most easily at low relative humidities and cold temperatures, with the highest transmissions at 41 F and a humidity of 35 percent or less.
Why Bother? Because the flu may be easy to avoid. Scientists have long assumed that indoor crowding in winter was what spread it. But this study suggests that the flu just lives longest in dry, cold conditions. So close the window. The flu, writes Anice Lowen of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, could be fought off “by simply maintaining room air at warm temperatures and either intermediate or high relative humidities.”

So why do I get the flu when I've lived in South Florida and Hawaii for the past 10 years?

[katiemack Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close katiemack]

Interesting theory, but then why doesn't the whole Southwest have the flu most of the year?

[kbletzer Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kbletzer]

So why do I get the flu when I've lived in South Florida and Hawaii for the past 10 years?

Do you travel?

[jericap Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close jericap]

It states it spreads most easily and has the highest transmissions in weather such as described. It does not state the flu only transmits in weather such as described.

It would be interesting to see the trending information from the CDC to see if one region is higher than another in flu outbreaks.