Thank you for this piece. I shall add it to the toolbox to which I refer regularly when speaking in interviews, on panels, in friend or family circles, on social media, or in emails and letters to govt, public health, or organizations that clearly don’t understand this yet. It’s not the kids who are sick. It’s the structures they’re in that are sick.
Thanks for sharing this. This study shows that cold air can weaken nasal immune defenses, making individuals more susceptible to respiratory infections by reducing antiviral extracellular vesicle activity in the nose. That mechanism is real and biologically sound.
But it explains susceptibility, not spread.
It does not explain why epidemics grow exponentially, why they follow the same timing each year across very different climates, or why they peak and decline in sync with school calendars in the U.S., U.K., Japan, and Australia.
Cold air may make infection easier.
It does not create the network structure needed for exponential transmission.
Like I said, school classrooms are incubators for all those little Petri dishes. :) I should point out that the school year in Australia runs from end of January through Mid December and their Flu season tend to be April to October. Winter is June to August and temps can get cold depending on location. This doesn't mean that schools are not spreaders.
Thank you for this piece. I shall add it to the toolbox to which I refer regularly when speaking in interviews, on panels, in friend or family circles, on social media, or in emails and letters to govt, public health, or organizations that clearly don’t understand this yet. It’s not the kids who are sick. It’s the structures they’re in that are sick.
There is another factor but no doubt about classrooms are really Petri Dishes. :)
Cold weather is another factor as it affect your immune system. I noted this in a previous post.
https://www.the-scientist.com/why-does-the-immune-system-struggle-when-the-weather-changes-73260
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/scientists-finally-figure-out-why-youre-more-likely-to-get-sick-in-cold-weather
Thanks for sharing this. This study shows that cold air can weaken nasal immune defenses, making individuals more susceptible to respiratory infections by reducing antiviral extracellular vesicle activity in the nose. That mechanism is real and biologically sound.
But it explains susceptibility, not spread.
It does not explain why epidemics grow exponentially, why they follow the same timing each year across very different climates, or why they peak and decline in sync with school calendars in the U.S., U.K., Japan, and Australia.
Cold air may make infection easier.
It does not create the network structure needed for exponential transmission.
Schools do.
Cold influences risk. Schools drive epidemics.
That’s the difference.
Like I said, school classrooms are incubators for all those little Petri dishes. :) I should point out that the school year in Australia runs from end of January through Mid December and their Flu season tend to be April to October. Winter is June to August and temps can get cold depending on location. This doesn't mean that schools are not spreaders.
Thanks - nice little article on this.