1. Cold Waves Accelerate the Spread of Infectious Diseases.
- Author
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Lian, Xinbo, Huang, Jianping, Li, Han, Yan, Wei, Zhao, Yingjie, and Wang, Rui
- Subjects
EMERGING infectious diseases ,EXTREME weather ,COMMUNICABLE diseases ,COLD (Temperature) ,DISEASE outbreaks - Abstract
Climate change is creating a new era of infectious disease crises, further exacerbated by extreme weather. However, the relationship between extreme weather and infectious disease remain unclear. Here, we provide a new quantitative study on the impact of cold wave on COVID‐19 as an example. We found that during cold waves, extreme cold temperatures coupled with rapid aerosol transport accelerated COVID‐19 outbreaks. It directly increased the number of COVID‐19 cases in Beijing by 28.1% in the winter of year 2022. More urgently, cold temperatures led to a higher risk of death during infectious disease outbreaks, with a 7.07% increase in confirmed deaths and a 16.61% increase in excess mortality. Our findings emphasize the urgent need to promote a synergistic policy for responding to infectious diseases during cold wave disasters in order to minimize the risk of death among the elderly and those with underlying diseases. Plain Language Summary: The sudden drop in temperature and rapid spread of aerosols during cold waves resulted in a higher prevalence of infectious diseases. At the same time, low temperatures resulted in a higher risk of death due to infectious diseases and a variety of other factors during the epidemic. Key Points: The rapid dispersion of aerosols during cold waves hastens the transmission of infectious diseasesLow temperatures contribute to higher risk of death during infectious disease outbreaks [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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