Because Corona has everything easier in the winter



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Berlin
The German Schaustellerbund is convinced that public holidays are no problem in the crown pandemic with proper hygiene concepts. The events of the summer would prove it. “Nowhere has there been an infection,” Vice President Lorenz Kalb said recently. Isn’t it therefore necessary to cancel Christmas markets such as Nuremberg’s Christkindlesmarkt?

You need to know that for a large number of infections, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), it is impossible to understand where the infection occurred – this is more possible for a limited environment such as a family or party than for many people. places used.

?? More often indoors

Furthermore, the likelihood of infection is currently higher simply because there are far more people with acute infection now than there were two months ago. And another factor takes effect: Sars-CoV-2 is transmitted more intensely in the cold season. Not just because more people are now meeting indoors rather than outdoors, where the risk of infection is usually considerably lower. Different properties of the virus and of the human organism favor its winter spread.

Typical winter viruses – which also include Sars-Cov-2 – would likely have a longer survival in dry air, says Thomas Deitmer, general secretary of the German Society of Ear, Nose and Throat Medicine, Head and Neck Surgery. According to a study published in March by researchers at Yale University, many of the viruses exhibit particularly unfavorable conditions with relative humidity between 40 and 60 percent.

?? humidity

If the relative humidity drops – as can be seen in winter – the initial situation for pathogens improves. “Cold air can absorb less moisture,” explains the ENT doctor. If this air is heated in rooms with constant air humidity, the relative humidity of the air decreases and the chance of survival and infectivity for the virus improves. “This is why grandmothers warned against heating dry air, not without good reason,” explains Deitmer. In his opinion, room humidifiers could worsen the survival capacity of Sars-CoV-2.

?? Nose and bronchi

Another problem: The nasal and bronchial systems can make viruses less harmful in the winter, says ENT doctor Deitmer. The so-called flicker transport of viruses and particles on the mucosa is slower and more tenacious at colder temperatures and relatively low humidity. The viruses would be carried from the bronchi to the larynx or from the nose to the throat through the cilia and from there to the stomach would be “carried away and disposed of”.

One aspect that, from Deitmer’s point of view, has so far failed is the positive effect of the mouth and nose masks. “The mask absorbs some of the moisture when you exhale and releases it again when you inhale. This increases the relative humidity of the air and ensures better conditions in the mouth and throat area for defense against the virus. “

Regular ventilation is especially important even in winter, says Eberhard Bodenschatz, director of the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization. “We don’t ventilate enough. Intermittent ventilation is essential here. “Full ventilation is particularly efficient in winter. “If there are significant differences in indoor and outdoor air temperatures, the air exchange is much higher.” In a shorter time, more fresh virus-free air would enter the room, according to the scientist.

?? immune system

Finally, there is also the fact that the immune system weakens in the fall and winter. “Less sun exposure reduces the level of vitamin D and therefore the resistance of each individual,” says Bernhard Junge-Hülsing, president of the professional association of ENT doctors in Bavaria. Depressive moods also weakened the immune system.

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