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CAN HIGH TEMPERATURE INFLUENCE THE MORTALITY OF COVID-19?



Since the emergence of this pandemic, a heated debate on social, television and print media is taking place whether increase in temperature will kill this virus or not?

Few say, it is a hoax and high temperature has no affect on its mortality while others debated, temperature will influence its spread. I even read long blog posts consisting of arguments how temperature will melt the lipid content of Coronavirus and the virus will be destroyed.

But being a scientist, I am only supposed to believe on data either generated in laboratory or via careful statistical analysis.

Numerous recent studies have attempted to find correlation between high temperature and humidity and the rate of COVID-19 spread. Most conducted studies have applied statistical tools to find linear relationship between the reported case of COVID-19 and elevated temperature. Fortunately, almost all have reported that with increased temperature and humidity the spread of SARS-CoV-2 is slowed down.

However, this association varies from area to area as well. Study in Wuhan reported positive correlation in temperature and virus growth but a group of scientists from China negated this fact. Likewise, study conducted in United States stated minimal correlation between temperature and COVID-19 spread. Spain, Iran and Indonesia reported positive association between meteorological factors and COVID-19.

The reason for such varying outcomes might be the fact that the genome of COVID-19 is mutating rapidly. May be, such mutations are accumulating which are making it resistant to ultraviolet radiation and temperature variance.

In my opinion, the hypothesis that temperature influences the SARS-CoV-2 spread must be analyzed in lab environment too. Pseudoviruses (virus which is less deadly and can be handled in labs of biosafety level 1/2) can be used to see the growth inhibitory or death inducing influence of temperature and humidity. Further, this study must be conducted in all the countries, even in different regions of the country, to better understand the temperature role on this pandemic. This will also eliminated all sorts of confusions that are prevailing currently.

If studies could delineate the association between COVID-19 and meteorological parameters then may be, an effective preventive strategy for this pandemic can be designed.

Till then Stay safe.


References:

https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciaa681/5849063

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00240/full

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7187824/

Effects of temperature variation and humidity on the death o...

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Location: Pakistan

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