The corona virus knows no boundaries and is spreading rapidly. Researchers are intensely looking for a vaccine against the novel lung disease Covid-19. Can the weather stop the corona virus?
- 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? Can spring or even summer stop the corona virus?
Update from April 6, 2020 : 25 degrees (!) Absolute t-shirt weather will be the order of the day in Germany. Can sun and heat stop the corona virus? This question comes up again and again. Does the hammer weather - if we're not allowed to grill - at least damage the corona viruses?
It is known that the novel coronavirus Sars-CoV-2 is sensitive to fat-dissolving substances such as surfactants. For this reason alone, it is particularly important to wash your hands regularly with soap . Linen from Corona patients should be washed at temperatures of at least 60 degrees , in addition to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the Federal Institute for Risk Research (BfR) also recommends.
Top virologists (see below) have already suspected that the weather or at least the seasons have an effect on the coronavirus Sars-CoV-2, if only a little.
Weather: Coronavirus spread based on data
The trade journal Ärzteblatt reports on a study of a seasonal effect with Sars-CoV-2. US researchers found that nine out of ten corona infections occurred in regions where average daytime temperatures were between 3 degrees and 17 degrees and absolute humidity was 4 to 9 g / m3. These temperatures and the humidity would have an impact on the spread of the virus. The US researchers predicted an end to the summer epidemic after their data analysis . In countries such as Italy, where the number of infections increases the most, the weather conditions would be similar to those in the Chinese metropolis of Wuhan.
However, it remains to be seen whether this is true, according to the specialist magazine. This thesis could hardly be maintained at the moment. The figures also develop differently when it comes to air humidity. The thesis only applies to dates (from January 1 to March 22) and not to the biological examination of the virus. However, the findings of this study cannot be transferred to the current situation, since the data situation is too thin.
Virologist Oliver Keppler from the Munich Max von Pettenkofer Institute explained on BR television that the earlier corona viruses were active between autumn and around May. “19 out of 20 other respiratory viruses have this rhythm. The only exception in recent decades has been swine flu in 2009, which was able to spread very well in the summer, ”Keppler told the BR .
The Sars-CoV-2 corona virus is new. It remains to be seen whether summer or warmer temperatures will slow down the spread of the virus. Even if the sun has an effect on the virus, the corona virus will not go away. All scientists seem to agree on this point.
Corona Virus: Do Spring Temperatures Help Against the Virus?
Update of March 22, 2020 : Warmer temperatures or freezing cold - can the weather slow down the spread of the corona virus?
The World Health Organization (WHO) radically eliminates these assumptions: "According to current knowledge, the Covid 19 virus can be transmitted in all areas, including areas with hot and humid weather." Even from countries that are currently experiencing higher temperatures, this is spreading Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2 .
To this end, the WHO urges people to take protective measures regardless of the climate. At the same time, the WHO explicitly points out that frequent hand washing is "the best way to protect yourself from Covid-19". "This way, you can remove viruses that may be on your hands and avoid infections that can occur if you touch your eyes, mouth, and nose."
Fact: Corona viruses can withstand higher temperatures, for example 27 degrees.
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A post shared by World Health Organization (@who) on Mar 16, 2020 at 3:02 p.m. PDT
Does summer slow down the spread of the corona virus?
The Berlin-based virologist Christian Drosten * assumes that summer - i.e. higher temperatures - may not contain the virus, but it can certainly have a small effect . The virologist explains his assessment in the NDR Podcast Corona Virus Update (dated March 20: “The effectiveness of curfews is unclear”). Drosten represents the stop of virus transmission in the case of endemic (specialist jargon for localized occurrence) viruses, such as influenza viruses.
The summer brings with it several effects that are not conducive to virus transmission: social distance (more people are outside instead of in closed rooms), UV light (see below), warmth and dryness.
According to Christian Drosten, these viruses, which are widespread in the population, have a permanent problem, namely " population immunity ". If all of this comes together, the virus transmission will stop , at least in the example of the influenza virus.
In his view, the spread of a pandemic virus would not be stopped as much, but it would stop a little. Drosten relies on a statistical comparison calculation of a study. At the beginning of the corona crisis, the virologist had been more confident, but his assessments had been corrected over the course of the week.
Corona virus: what role does the weather play? ZDF weather expert explains with 3D model
First report from March 14, 2020
Viruses and weather: Meteorologist Katja Horneffer explains the weather influences in 3D on ZDF.
© Screenshot ZDF
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, a metropolis in the Chinese province of Hubei. On January 7, 2020, Chinese experts managed to identify the virus. 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 .
Can the weather slow down the corona virus?
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 for viruses?
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 - Does Weather Really 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.
