Extract
Understanding the environmental drivers of influenza transmissibility would contribute to the early intervention and long-term control strategies of seasonal influenza, a serious public health problem that causes considerable morbidity and mortality each year. Within the burgeoning literature on influenza transmission, there are conflicting lines of evidence on the role of the environment [1]. Besides meteorological factors, it is also uncertain how common air pollutants such as ozone (O3), sulphur dioxides (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitric oxide (NO), and particulate matter (PM) may affect influenza transmission [2]. The objective of our study was to examine the relationship of influenza transmissibility in Hong Kong with common air pollutants and other environmental factors including UV and absolute humidity.
Abstract
The authors found that higher levels of ambient ozone were associated with reduced influenza transmissibility
Footnotes
This manuscript has recently been accepted for publication in the European Respiratory Journal. It is published here in its accepted form prior to copyediting and typesetting by our production team. After these production processes are complete and the authors have approved the resulting proofs, the article will move to the latest issue of the ERJ online. Please open or download the PDF to view this article.
Conflict of interest: Sheikh Taslim Ali
Conflict of interest: Peng Wu
Conflict of interest: Simon Cauchemez
Conflict of interest: Daihai He
Conflict of interest: Vicky J. Fang
Conflict of interest: Benjamin J. Cowling
Conflict of interest: Linwei Tian
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