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J. Virol. doi:10.1128/JVI.02186-10
Copyright (c) 2010, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.
Transmission of a 2009 pandemic influenza virus shows similar sensitivity to temperature and humidity as an H3N2 seasonal strain
John Steel, Peter Palese, and Anice C. Lowen*
Department of Microbiology and Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
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Abstract
In temperate regions of the world, influenza epidemics follow a highly regular seasonal pattern, in which activity peaks in the mid-winter. Consistent with this epidemiology, we have shown previously that the aerosol transmission of a seasonal H3N2 influenza virus is most efficient under cold, dry conditions. With the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, an exception to the standard seasonality of influenza developed: during 2009 in the Northern Hemisphere, an unusually high level of influenza virus activity over the spring and summer months was followed by a widespread epidemic which peaked in late October, approximately 2.5 months earlier than usual. Herein we show that aerosol transmission of a 2009 pandemic strain shows a very similar dependence on relative humidity and temperature as a seasonal H3N2 influenza virus. Our data indicate that the observed differences in the timing of outbreaks relative to the seasons are most likely not due to intrinsic differences in transmission between the pandemic H1N1 and seasonal H3N2 influenza viruses.
Copyright (c) 2010, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.
Transmission of a 2009 pandemic influenza virus shows similar sensitivity to temperature and humidity as an H3N2 seasonal strain
John Steel, Peter Palese, and Anice C. Lowen*
Department of Microbiology and Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
arrow
Abstract
In temperate regions of the world, influenza epidemics follow a highly regular seasonal pattern, in which activity peaks in the mid-winter. Consistent with this epidemiology, we have shown previously that the aerosol transmission of a seasonal H3N2 influenza virus is most efficient under cold, dry conditions. With the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, an exception to the standard seasonality of influenza developed: during 2009 in the Northern Hemisphere, an unusually high level of influenza virus activity over the spring and summer months was followed by a widespread epidemic which peaked in late October, approximately 2.5 months earlier than usual. Herein we show that aerosol transmission of a 2009 pandemic strain shows a very similar dependence on relative humidity and temperature as a seasonal H3N2 influenza virus. Our data indicate that the observed differences in the timing of outbreaks relative to the seasons are most likely not due to intrinsic differences in transmission between the pandemic H1N1 and seasonal H3N2 influenza viruses.
