A question for clever people....

tallaght01

So, every year we get a winter crisis in hospitals in Ireland and the UK.

In the adult game, it's old people with severe chest infections. It's also a lot of falls on ice etc. Their COPD goes to hell, and the hospitals get crowded like crazy.

In paediatrics, we get a LOT of bronchiolitis, aswell as a lot of delicate newborns who sometimes have to get admitted with simple viral URTIs.

This is all kicks in when the weather changes, by and large.

Now, I assumed that when I came to Oz, I might escape the winter madness. That would make sense, as the winter days where I am are warmer than the summer days in Ireland a lot of the time!

But according to the guys where I work, they get hellish winters, with kids pileing up in A+E 24 hours a day with bronchiolitis etc. Same in adult medicine here. I mean , maybe it's not so bad. maybe their idea of a "winter crisis" isn't what I regard as a 'winter crisis".

So, I've been racking my brains thinking about this, and I'm sure there's a simple answer....why do hot countries get outbreaks of infectious disease in the winter? I know it's going to be to do with the RELATIVE temperatures. But would an Irish kid in Oz in their winter still be susceptible to bronchiolitis?

I don't know. But there's some smart people kicking about here. So, enlighten me if you'd be so kind

Jimoslimos

Well I was always under the impression that

Cold(er) weather = people spending more time in close proximity = increased rates of transmission

As for the UTIs, I'm not sure, although winter might suggest that people wear more clothes (i.e underwear) which might in some way lead to an infection.

Just my own musings on the topic, not sure if any of this has been scientifically verified.

Traumadoc

Yes I wondered about this too, Why cold weather? why do we still suffer from viral infections when we all have central heating?. Perhaps there is a biological evolutionary reason, lower respiratory tract infections eliminating the sickest in a population. "Old Man's Friend" and all that.



I dont remember Australia being particularly warm in winters, the winter season did seem shorter.

Dr Galen

maybe it is something to do with proximity in winter? I've thought about it myself, espcially with relation to norovirus outbreaks.

maybe this could be the first ever boards medical/bio board research project

Chunky Monkey

Closer proximity sounds viable. Where my mum is from, they never have cold weather. I wonder how many people get colds there. They also eat a lot of spices though.

Do the bacteria/viruses that cause these things prefer the cold? Go easy on me if that's a really stupid suggestion, it's been almost a year since I've opened my biology books

I often get a runny nose when I'm out in very cold weather which stops once I get inside. Could the clever people above suggest a reason for that please? I thought about sinuses expanding in the cold though I can't think of any reason why they would do that. Or something to do with the cold (or wind) causing watery eyes which in turn causes watery nose?

Bison

Chunky Monkey wrote: »

I often get a runny nose when I'm out in very cold weather which stops once I get inside. Could the clever people above suggest a reason for that please? I thought about sinuses expanding in the cold though I can't think of any reason why they would do that. Or something to do with the cold (or wind) causing watery eyes which in turn causes watery nose?

Your tear ducts do connect with your nose alright but I think it is because your body tries to saturate incoming air with water. In cold air the atmospheric vapour pressure drops significantly so your airways need to secrete more fluid to saturate it.

tallaght01

I've thought of the proximity thing aswell. But up north it's pretty warm all the time, so I wouldn't imagine it would get cold enough to stop people going outdoors. I have relatives who live not too far from me, who say they wear short sleeves all year round. And I've been on holidays here a few years ago during their winter, and it was definitely warm.

I reckon if we thought about it enough, we could definitely get published in noddy and barney's annals of medicine

Staph

UV light form the sun can kill microorganism. As the sun is less intense and out for a shorter time during the winter, this maybe a factor in the increase in infections. It might not be a huge factor though. Just a thought!

charlieroot

I may be clutching at straws here... but I had the vague idea that seasonal variants of the cold/flu generally start out in parts of Asia/Africa where people are living in cramped and often not very hygenic conditions (close proximity to animals as well?). These conditions could be exacerbated in their winter months where poor conditions force people to live indoors with less ventilation etc. causing increased infection. Supposing this to be true could it be then that the flu/cold migrates from host to host across the globe to places where the climate doesn't predispose people to this kind of infectious spread?

I could be talking out of my hat completely, but I thought I'd throw the idea out there for discussion.

Fremen

tallaght01 wrote: »

So, every year we get a winter crisis in hospitals in Ireland and the UK.

In the adult game, it's old people with severe chest infections. It's also a lot of falls on ice etc. Their COPD goes to hell, and the hospitals get crowded like crazy.

In paediatrics, we get a LOT of bronchiolitis, aswell as a lot of delicate newborns who sometimes have to get admitted with simple viral URTIs.

This is all kicks in when the weather changes, by and large.

Now, I assumed that when I came to Oz, I might escape the winter madness. That would make sense, as the winter days where I am are warmer than the summer days in Ireland a lot of the time!

But according to the guys where I work, they get hellish winters, with kids pileing up in A+E 24 hours a day with bronchiolitis etc. Same in adult medicine here. I mean , maybe it's not so bad. maybe their idea of a "winter crisis" isn't what I regard as a 'winter crisis".

So, I've been racking my brains thinking about this, and I'm sure there's a simple answer....why do hot countries get outbreaks of infectious disease in the winter? I know it's going to be to do with the RELATIVE temperatures. But would an Irish kid in Oz in their winter still be susceptible to bronchiolitis?

I don't know. But there's some smart people kicking about here. So, enlighten me if you'd be so kind

It might be interesting to compare this with the case of an equatorial climate, where there is little seasonal variation. If you find the same annual crisis without the temperature change there, then you can probably chalk it up to an epidemiological cycle of some sort.

DrIndy

another take on this - these are very easily contracted respiratory viruses - does this in fact reflect global pandemics of these viruses? there is an outbreak in the northern hemisphere - people go on holidays and bring it back and then there's an outbreak in australia too?

Latchy

Household dust is another big factor.With our homes all clogged up with more and more electric equipment ie pc's lap tops,dvd,mobiles,tv's in every room blah blah ,this does not help in our fight against infections although i also could be talking out of my hat .

Chunky Monkey

Bison wrote: »

Your tear ducts do connect with your nose alright but I think it is because your body tries to saturate incoming air with water. In cold air the atmospheric vapour pressure drops significantly so your airways need to secrete more fluid to saturate it.

Ah that's interesting, thank you.