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Importance
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection has resulted in a global crisis. Investigating the potential association of climate and seasonality with the spread of this infection could aid in preventive and surveillance strategies.
Objective
To examine the association of climate with the spread of COVID-19 infection.
Design, Setting,...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... cities had varying RH (44%-84%) but consistently low Q (3-6 g/kg) and AH (4-7 g/m 3 ) (eTable 2 in the Supplement). Having low average temperatures (3-9 °C at airport weather stations) and low Q (4-6 g/kg) tightly clustered the cities with substantial outbreaks as of March 10, 2020, compared with cities that did not have COVID-19 cases (Figure 3). The association between temperature and Q was also statistically significant when comparing cities with and without substantial community spread (P = .003 ...
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Background: Disease outbreak not only carries the risk of death to the public due to the infection, but it also can lead to unbearable psychological impact on the mental health of the individuals. This study aims to explore and evaluate the burden of psychological problems on the Iranian general population during the outbreak of COVID-19.
Method: A...
Citations
... Analysis of the dynamics of influenza and COVID-19 across seasons clearly shows that the quantity of virus shed is significantly higher during winter and rarer in the summertime. Considering that people in temperate regions spend more than 80% of their time indoors, regardless of external weather conditions (10,(13)(14)(15), it is reasonable to anticipate that the majority of respiratory infections would occur in these indoor settings (16), where iRH levels can easily drop below 40% (8,10,(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22). Climate data for COVID-19 transmission were collected from the outdoor environment to inform spreading distancing guideline and prevent COVID-19 transmission. ...
... Temperate-zone winters often lead to an increase in the spread of respiratory viruses (7,27). Recent studies have attempted to link temperature and humidity to the seasonal pattern of COVID-19 infection rates (10,22,(28)(29)(30). Heating a building typically dries the air and decreases iRH, which improves the virus's viability and weakens immune defenses (25). ...
Water microdroplets (7 to 11 µm average diameter, depending on flow rate) are sprayed in a closed chamber at ambient temperature, whose relative humidity (RH) is controlled. The resulting concentration of ROS (reactive oxygen species) formed in the microdroplets, measured by the amount of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), is determined by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and by spectrofluorimetric assays after the droplets are collected. The results are found to agree closely with one another. In addition, hydrated hydroxyl radical cations (•OH-H 3 O ⁺ ) are recorded from the droplets using mass spectrometry and superoxide radical anions (•O 2 ⁻ ) and hydroxyl radicals (•OH) by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. As the RH varies from 15 to 95%, the concentration of H 2 O 2 shows a marked rise by a factor of about 3.5 in going from 15 to 50%, then levels off. By replacing the H 2 O of the sprayed water with deuterium oxide (D 2 O) but keeping the gas surrounding droplets with H 2 O, mass spectrometric analysis of the hydrated hydroxyl radical cations demonstrates that the water in the air plays a dominant role in producing H 2 O 2 and other ROS, which accounts for the variation with RH. As RH increases, the droplet evaporation rate decreases. These two facts help us understand why viruses in droplets both survive better at low RH values, as found in indoor air in the wintertime, and are disinfected more effectively at higher RH values, as found in indoor air in the summertime, thus explaining the recognized seasonality of airborne viral infections.
... Quanto aos aspectos relacionados a transmissão e disseminação do COVID-19, dos 33 estudos incluídos, apenas 04 deles fazem menção ao termo "disseminação", porém de forma breve. Tal fato é percebível quando é feito a existência de correlações com fatores ambientais, climáticos ou de sazonalidade (MECENAS et al., 2020, SANJUAN-REYES, et al., 2021. ...
Objective: Conduct a scoping review to map the scientific evidence on the existing relationship between the transmission and spread of COVID-19 with environmental, climatic and seasonality factors. Methodology: Review studies published in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, SCOPUS and Virtual Health Library Portal (VHL). 33 studies were included in the review, most from China, followed by Brazil and the United States of America. Results: The most studied factors were temperature, climate and humidity, wind, air quality, precipitation with the transmission of the SARS-Cov-2 virus in the year 2020. The attribution of the positive relationship or not, obtained in the studies regarding influence of climatic environmental factors and seasonality on the transmission or dissemination of SARS-CoV2 are controversial both for the increase or reduction of cases, due to the divergence of results regarding the studied variables, design and location. Conclusion: This study did not find enough evidence to support the hypothesis that higher temperatures will reduce COVID-19 transmission. The significant and valid impact of air pollution and climate change on the transmission of COVID-19 must be considered, with strong implications for preventive strategies for new pandemics.
... This study focused on Gansu Province, an inland region in northwest China, where the climate is characterized by dry and rainless throughout the year, large temperature difference between day and night, and frequent respiratory tract infections. Other studies have also found that climate factors regarding lower temperature, increased temperature difference between day and night, and decreased relative humidity are independent risk factors for the incidence and mortality of respiratory diseases [46][47][48] , including COVID-19 [49][50] . The pathogenic dryness during October and November provides conditions for the COVID-19 pandemic under cold climatic conditions [51][52] . ...
Background
By analyzing clinical characteristics and laboratory results among patients infected with severe acute respiratory disease coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron strains, this study aimed to investigate influencing factors of severity classification at admission in order to provide references for the prevention and treatment of SARS-CoV-2.
Methods
A total of 1,098 patients with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron strains from July 2022 to August 2022 in Lanzhou city, Gansu Province were retrospectively analyzed.
Results
All patients received traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) intervention, including 510 males and 588 females. 918 (83.683%) had no fever symptoms. Age, underlying diseases and vaccination were the most significant factors of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity. Specifically, age was positively correlated with moderate and severe COVID-19 while number of vaccinations had negative impact on classification at admission. For each additional unit of COVID-19 vaccination, the risk of mild, moderate and severe classification decreased by 0.532, 0.530 and 0.183 times, respectively. Besides, compared with unvaccinated patients, patients with underlying diseases were more likely to develop into critical COVID-19. Early use of TCM in the exposed population might be one of the reasons for the mild symptoms in this study.
Conclusions
Age, underlying diseases, number of COVID-19 vaccinations were three main risk factors of severity classification among COVID-19 patients at admission. We highly recommended to focus on and strengthen control for elderly patients with chronic underlying diseases, as well as the unvaccinated patients, followed by actively antiviral and control treatment. Vaccination and TCM intervention in advance might play an important role in the prevention of COVID-19.
... Numerous reasons that probably predisposed Africa to these tragedies include the climate, ecological factors, young age, lower age-related co-morbidities, and weak health systems for disease surveillance (Gaye et al., 2020;Sajadi et al., 2021;Wamai et al., 2021). Most initial investigations indicated a less ruthless epidemiological picture of COVID-19 in Africa, even if a higher proportion of cases resulting in asymptomatic infections and lesser mortality compared with other regions of the world exists (Tessema & Nkengasong, 2021). ...
This article reviews how the intra-Lagos migration and routinized lifestyle activities of residents impact the spread of COVID-19 in the context of structural vulnerability theory. This study collected data from 32 purposively selected in-depth interview participants using a qualitative method. The data were thematically and content analyzed. It found that the lockdown worked between 6:00 am and 6:00 pm daily at night, social community replaced social distancing. The participants, who lived on daily incomes without palliatives, embarked more on intra-Lagos migration in defiance of the lockdown to justify the assumptions of structural vulnerability theory. The study concludes that the government should impose a dusk-to-dawn curfew to prevent night migration-induced infection in Lagos if a future pandemic occurs. The Ministry of Education should monitor Lagos communities to protect vulnerable children from the threat of infections. Moreover, public policy should improve the capacity of children to display the appropriate forms of lifestyle and routine activities that discourage careless infection-spreading migration as a means of promoting solidarity for public health in Lagos. In readiness for future epidemics, the article suggests a probe of the handlers of the distribution of the COVID-19 palliatives that caused residents to throng the streets of Lagos and Nigeria for food.
... [235][236][237][238][239] Humidity and temperature have a significant but inconsistent effect on the regional incidence of viral respiratory infections, as each virus has a different "u-shape" curve of ideal transmission conditions, affected to varying degrees by a constellation of environmental and host factors. [240][241][242][243][244][245][246][247][248][249][250][251] For example, while warmer winters are associated with fewer infections of influenza A and B, they have been shown to precipitate severe annual influenza seasons with earlier onset in the following year, as there is a larger immunologically susceptible population to attack. 252 Conversely, warmer winters shorten the RSV season, creating a protective effect for an immunologically naïve child population. ...
Full text link: https://rdcu.be/dsVBh
The adverse effects of climate change on human health are unfolding in real time. Environmental fragmentation is amplifying spillover of viruses from wildlife to humans. Increasing temperatures are expanding mosquito and tick habitats, introducing vector-borne viruses into immunologically susceptible populations. More frequent flooding is spreading water-borne viral pathogens, while prolonged droughts reduce regional capacity to prevent and respond to disease outbreaks with adequate water, sanitation, and hygiene resources. Worsening air quality and altered transmission seasons due to an increasingly volatile climate may exacerbate the impacts of respiratory viruses. Furthermore, both extreme weather events and long-term climate variation are causing the destruction of health systems and large-scale migrations, reshaping health care delivery in the face of an evolving global burden of viral disease. Because of their immunological immaturity, differences in physiology (e.g., size), dependence on caregivers, and behavioral traits, children are particularly vulnerable to climate change. This investigation into the unique pediatric viral threats posed by an increasingly inhospitable world elucidates potential avenues of targeted programming and uncovers future research questions to effect equitable, actionable change.
Impact
A review of the effects of climate change on viral threats to pediatric health, including zoonotic, vector-borne, water-borne, and respiratory viruses, as well as distal threats related to climate-induced migration and health systems.
A unique focus on viruses offers a more in-depth look at the effect of climate change on vector competence, viral particle survival, co-morbidities, and host behavior.
An examination of children as a particularly vulnerable population provokes programming tailored to their unique set of vulnerabilities and encourages reflection on equitable climate adaptation frameworks.
Full text link: https://rdcu.be/dsVBh
... Seasonal patterns of COVID-19 are currently a topic of interest for long-term analysis and design of interventions [13][14][15][16]; however, only a few studies have examined inferential seasonality on a global scale. Of these studies, none considered the aspect of human interactions in the built environment. ...
xD;Background
The occurrence of cases of COVID-19 suggests that it will likely become seasonally endemic in human populations.
Objectives
We seek to provide a quantification of the seasonality of the occurrence and severity of COVID-19 cases in human populations.
Methods
Using global data, we show that the spatiotemporal distribution of COVID-19 cases is a function of distinct seasons and climates. We investigated this at the county and the country scale using a comparison of seasonal means, correlation analyses using ambient air temperatures and dew point temperatures, and multiple linear regression techniques.
Results
We found that most locations had the highest incidence of COVID-19 during winter compared to other seasons. Regions closer to the equator had a higher incidence of COVID-19 during the summer than regions further from the equator. Regions close to the equator, where mean annual temperatures have less variance compared to those further from the equator, had smaller differences between seasonal COVID-19 incidence. Correlation and regression analyses showed that ambient air and dew point temperatures were significantly associated with COVID-19 incidence.
Discussion
Our results suggest that temperature and the environment are influential factors to understand the transmission of COVID-19 within the human population. This research provides empirical evidence that temperature changes are a strong indicator of seasonal COVID-19 outbreaks, and as such it will aid in planning for future outbreaks and for mitigating their impacts.
... Table 2 also reported a positive and significant association between COVID-19 and humidity (r = 0.033; p < 0.01) and wind speed (r = 0.790; p < 0.01). The findings are like those of recent Bangladeshi studies (Hridoy et al. 2021;Islam et al. 2020), Chinese studies (Sajadi et al. 2020), and Indian studies (Goswami et al. 2020). Table 2 also reported a moderate, positive, and significant association between COVID-19 and rainfall (r = 0.521; p < 0.01). ...
... The occurrence of COVID-19 has no significant association with relative humidity, according to Bashir et al. (2020a, b). Other studies have observed the similar findings (Hridoy et al. 2021;Islam et al. 2020;Sajadi et al. 2020;Ma et al. 2020;Runkle et al. 2020;Wang et al. 2020;), suggesting that COVID-19 is linked to relative humidity. Dbouk and Drikakis (2020) demonstrated the wind speed plays a role in SARS-CoV-2 airborne transmission using a computational fluid dynamics simulation. ...
This study examines the relationship between climatic factors and the prevalence of COVID-19 in Bangladesh. The Pearson correlation coefficient, the Spearman correlation coefficient, and Kendall's correlation coefficient have all been used to assess the intensity and direction of the relationship between climatic factors and COVID-19. The lagged effects of climatic parameters on COVID-19 daily confirmed cases from Bangladesh are being investigated using the Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model. As a result, one non-climatic variable, such as a daily lab test, is considered a control variable. As climatic variables, average temperature (°C), average humidity (percent), average rainfall (mm), and average wind speed (km/h) were well chosen and the same time one environmental variable (a proxy of air quality) like average particulate matter (\({PM}_{2.5})\) is considered into account. The time series data used in this analysis was from May 1, 2020, to April 14, 2021. The findings of correlation analysis indicate that there is an important /strong, significant, and positive relationship between COVID-19 widespread and temperature (°C), humidity (percent), rainfall (mm), and wind speed (km/h), whereas there is a negative, weak, and significant relationship between \({PM}_{2.5}\) and COVID-19 widespread. In addition, the ARDL findings suggest that temperature (°C), \({PM}_{2.5}\), and wind speed (km/h) have major lag effects on COVID-19 in Bangladesh, while humidity (percent) and rainfall (mm) have negligible lag effects. This study will be helpful to environmental activists and policymakers in creating future sustainable improvement plans for climate and weather conditions in Bangladesh.
... It is important to note, however, that acute systematic inflammatory illnesses like COVID-19 can lower serum 25(OH)D concentrations and reverse causality should be considered when evaluating the relationship between vitamin D and COVID-19 severity risk [25]. Cold temperature and dry conditions are strong predictors of COVID-19 severity due to effects on the diameter of exhaled aerosols containing SARS-CoV-2 and how long they stay airborne [26,27]. In addition, cold increases risk by cooling of the body surface and cold stress induced by lowering the core body temperature causes pathophysiological responses such as vasoconstriction in the respiratory tract mucosa and suppression of immune responses, which are responsible for increased susceptibility to infections [28,29]. ...
We aimed to determine potential risk factors for COVID-19 severity including serum vitamin D levels and latent TB infection among Mongolian inpatients diagnosed with COVID-19, and to study the effects of disease complications and treatment outcomes. This study included patients admitted to the Mongolian National Center for Communicable Disease, a main referral center for infectious disease in Mongolia, with COVID-19 ascertained by a positive PCR test. Patients’ demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were analyzed. Of the 270 patients enrolled, 125 (46%) had mild-to-moderate illness, 86 (32%) had severe illness, and 59 (22%) had critical illness. Ten (91%) of the 11 patients who had active TB were hospitalized with severe or critical COVID-19, suggesting that they had a higher risk of falling into the severe category (OR = 10.6 [1.2; 92.0] 95% CI). Severe vitamin D deficiency (25(OH)D < 10 ng/mL) was present in 32% of the patients, but was not significantly associated with the severity of illness (p = 0.65). Older age, being male, having active TB and/or COPD were associated with greater COVID-19 severity, whereas a history of COVID-19 vaccination and the presence of a BCG vaccination scar were protective in terms of disease severity.
... Modeling studies had anticipated a reduction in the transmissibility of COVID-19 in tropical areas with increased temperatures 38 . Yet, in Mayotte, a French overseas territory located close to Reunion Island, the largest wave of COVID-19 occurred in February 2021, a months with the highest temperatures and rainfall 39,40 . Thus, the number of cases reported in only one month in February 2021 was 8,630 compared to 8,231 cases prior to February 1, 2021. ...
The Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a considerable impact on the incidence of severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) worldwide. The aim of this study was to assess the early impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Reunion Island. This multicenter retrospective observational study was conducted from 2016 to 2021 in the hospitals of Reunion Island. The incidence of severe non-SARS-CoV-2 CAP, microorganisms, characteristics and outcomes of patients hospitalized in intensive care unit were compared between the pre-COVID-19 period (January 1, 2016 to February 29, 2020) and the early COVID-19 period (March 1, 2020 to October 31, 2021). Over the study period, 389 patients developed severe non-SARS-CoV-2 CAP. The incidence of severe non-SARS-CoV-2 CAP significantly decreased between the two periods (9.16 vs. 4.13 cases per 100,000 person-years). The influenza virus was isolated in 43.5% patients with severe non-SARS-CoV-2 CAP in the pre-COVID-19 period and in none of the 60 patients in the early COVID-19 period (P < 0.0001). The only virus that did not decrease was rhinovirus. Streptococcus pneumoniae was the most frequently isolated bacterial microorganism, with no significant difference between the two periods. In Reunion Island, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant decrease in the incidence of influenza, which likely explains the observed decrease in the incidence of severe non-SARS-CoV-2 CAP. The pandemic had no impact on the incidence of other viral and bacterial severe non-SARS-CoV-2 CAP. Monitoring influenza incidence is crucial now that COVID-19 control measures have been removed.
... It is common knowledge that particular winter months are when infectious diseases spread the quickest. Particularly, seasonal patterns in the behavior of several coronaviruses that cause respiratory infectious illnesses are associated with variations in temperature and humidity [33,34]. A better long-term prediction of an epidemic would result from the model taking into account such seasonal regularity. ...
