Washington: Those worried about the coughing and sneezing associated with the upcoming flu season, should consider boosting the humidity in the rooms around you.
Moderate to high humidity can significantly reduce the infectivity of influenza virus particles, according to a new study.
Maintaining relative indoor humidity at 43 percent or higher could cut the bug`s threat to about 15 percent, researchers found.
John Noti and colleagues from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tested the effect of relative humidity on the capacity of flu virus released in a simulated `cough` to re-infect cells.
They found that an hour after being released in a room at a relative humidity of 23 percent or less, 70-77 percent of viral particles retained their infectious capacity, but when humidity was increased to about 43 percent, only 14 percent of the virus particles were capable of infecting cells.
Most of this inactivation occurred within the first fifteen minutes of the viral particles being released in the high-humidity condition.
The study concludes that maintaining indoor relative humidity at levels greater than 40 percent can significantly reduce the infectious capacity of aerosolized flu virus.
The study was recently published in the open access journal PLOS ONE.
ANI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.