With the increasing pace of global warming, it is important to understand the role of meteorological factors in influenza virus (IV) epidemics. In this study, we investigated the impact of temperature, UV index, humidity, wind speed, atmospheric pressure, and precipitation on IV activity in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania during 2010-2018. Both correlation and machine learning analyses revealed that low temperature and UV indexes were the most predictive meteorological factors for IV epidemics in Northern Europe. Our in vitro experiments confirmed that low temperature and UV radiation preserved IV infectivity. Associations between these meteorological factors and IV activity could improve surveillance and promote development of accurate predictive models for future influenza outbreaks in the region.
1.Norwegian Univ Sci & Technol, Dept Clin & Mol Med, N-7028 Trondheim, Norway 2.Univ Tartu, Inst Technol, EE-50090 Tartu, Estonia 3.Univ Helsinki, Dept Virol & Immunol, FIN-00014 Helsinki, Finland 4.HUS, Helsinki 00290, Finland 5.Univ Helsinki, FIN-00290 Helsinki, Finland 6.Univ Tartu, Inst Med Microbiol, EE-50411 Tartu, Estonia 7.Narva Haigla, EE-20104 Narva, Estonia 8.Latvian Biomed Res & Study Ctr, LV-1067 Riga, Latvia 9.Lithuanian Univ Hlth Sci, Dept Lab Med, LT-44307 Kaunas, Lithuania 10.Lithuanian Univ Hlth Sci, Dept Emergency Med, LT-44307 Kaunas, Lithuania 11.Uppsala Univ, Dept Med Sci, S-75309 Uppsala, Sweden 12.Univ Bergen, Dept Clin Sci, Influenza Ctr, N-5021 Bergen, Norway
Recommended Citation:
Ianevski, Aleksandr,Zusinaite, Eva,Shtaida, Nastassia,et al. Low Temperature and Low UV Indexes Correlated with Peaks of Influenza Virus Activity in Northern Europe during 2010-2018[J]. VIRUSES-BASEL,2019-01-01,11(3)