The corona virus knows no boundaries and is spreading rapidly. Researchers are intensely looking for a vaccine against the novel lung disease Covid-19. What role does the weather play?
- The Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2 has a firm grip on Europe.
- Scientists and researchers are looking for drugs and a vaccine against the virus * that causes the novel lung disease Covid-19.
- What role does the weather * play in the current situation?
Munich - Researchers are trying to find out everything about the novel coronavirus Sars-CoV-2 . On December 31, the Chinese authorities informed the World Health Organization (WHO) about a mysterious lung disease in Wuhan, the metropolis of millions in the Chinese province of Hubei. Chinese experts will be able to identify the virus on January 7, 2020. The pathogen therefore belonged to the family of corona viruses and was initially named 2019-nCoV . In the meantime, the WHO is calling the novel coronavirus Sars-CoV-2, which triggers the novel lung disease Covid-19 .
Since January, researchers and scientists have found out a lot about the coronavirus that plunges the world into a coronavirus crisis. Europe has become a hotspot for the virus outside of China. An interactive corona virus map on the Internet shows the dynamic development of infections, deaths and survived corona cases - in Germany and around the world. Germany has called for drastic measures to curb the current spread of the coronavirus . The goal is to save time. The new corona virus can be transmitted from person to person through droplet infection * and smear infection.
Corona virus in Germany - what role does the weather play?
The weather probably plays a role in the fight against the corona virus in Germany. Virologist Alexander Kekulé recently spoke to the ARD about this. In his opinion, the weather could slow down the corona virus. “When it gets warm, the coronaviruses usually get weaker and the disease weakens. Summer could be our best ally, ”said virologist Alexander Kekulé.
According to the Berlin virologist Christian Drosten *, the weather could have an effect on the spread. "The warmth in the summer, UV rays and the fact that more people are outside and less likely to become infected with each other," Drosten told the RBB about infection rates (February 28, 2020).
Coronavirus: An undated electron micrograph of the "US National Institute of Health" shows the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).
© NIAID-RML / AP / dpa
Corona virus - why does the weather actually affect Sars-CoV-2?
Whether seasons play a role in the transmission of viruses has not yet been finally clarified, writes the German Weather Service (DWD) on the subject of winter time and flu time. Years ago, scientists would have asked why so many people are infected with the influenza virus (colloquially "real flu") in winter.
The researchers came across a factor in a test with two dolls, according to the DWD . One reason for this is the humidity . The wetter the air, the lower the risk of infection with the influenza virus. As with coughing, a pump had released influenza viruses. The result: “At a moisture level of up to 23 percent, about three quarters of the virus particles were still contagious after an hour. At around 43 percent humidity, however, the proportion of infectious particles shrank to only about a fifth. ”
Warmer air can absorb significantly more water vapor than cold air, explains DWD meteorologist Magdalena Bertelmann. The absolute humidity (amount of water vapor in the air) is significantly lower in the winter months than in summer.
Viruses stay in the air longer in winter
On cold winter days, droplets with viruses float in the air longer than in high humidity. The effects of temperature, humidity and light on the activity of viruses were also explained by meteorologist Katja Horneffer to the TV audience on Friday evening (March 13) according to the ZDF “heute journal” with the help of a 3D animation. Also, viruses surrounded by a lipid layer (fat layer) are sensitive to UV radiation. However, researchers cannot yet say whether the novel Sars-Cov-2 coronavirus will behave in this way. The new virus is closely related to the Sars pathogen, which just lost its stability due to UV light.
Winter, spring, summer and the viruses https://t.co/4jUjChcLFR
- Dr. Katja Horneffer (@katjahorneffer) March 14, 2020Coronavirus - What do temperature and humidity mean for influenza viruses?
Temperature and humidity play a role in the transmission of influenza viruses, i.e. flu viruses, says Prof. Silke Stertz, professor at the Institute for Medical Virology at the University of Zurich (UZH) in a current press release from UZH. The flu viruses are more stable when it is dry in winter, which makes spreading them more efficient. But researchers are now trying to find out why this is actually the case.
“But what we do not know is the mechanism behind it. We want to find out exactly what happens to the viruses under such winter conditions compared to summer conditions, ”says Prof. Stertz. However, there is already a vaccination against the influenza virus. Researchers are currently looking hard for an effective drug or vaccination against the novel coronavirus. Covid-19 has now claimed thousands of lives worldwide. Scientists have now succeeded in researching a vaccine.
By the way: Here you can find the ZDF video entitled “Winter, Winter, Spring, Summer and the Viruses”.
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.
