7 ms·

Heat kills germs, and from memory SARS-CoV-2 is particularly vulnerable.

by emmelaich 3y ago

resolutebat 3y ago
Didn't stop COVID from rampaging through plenty of hot places like India.
- mcmoor 3y ago
  They have unexpectedly lower excess death from initial covid... Until delta variant comes which isn't fazed at all by summer of 2021.
  - emmelaich 3y ago
    Indeed, it varies by strain. I was remarking on the initial variant, but I have not followed up on the later variants.
- emmelaich 3y ago
  Just means there's more than just heat at play, which is sorta obvious.
Sakos 3y ago
Not quite. The cold temporarily weakens our immune systems, particularly in our upper respiratory tract. Couple that with increased proximity to other people in many places when people are more likely to use public transport.
- emmelaich 3y ago
  One does not negate the other.
  - Sakos 3y ago
    I've not seen studies suggesting that the heat in warmer climates is warm enough to kill off germs in a way that would be relevant. I have seen studies showing the impact of cold on our immune systems. Feel free to provide sources though.
emmelaich 3y ago
> Mathematical models developed by Seifer & Elbaum (2020) aimed to assess the inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 at physiologically relevant temperatures, i.e. around 40⁰C, and at mild extremes of up to 60⁰C. In cell culture SARS-CoV-2 showed a 99.99% fold reduction in activity after incubation at 56⁰C for 15 minutes, which was in line with the predictions made by the mathematical model, lending some credence to the work. At a normal body temperature of 37⁰C, the model predicts 99.99% inactivation after 48 hours, while a mildly elevated temperature of 39⁰C is expected to induce 99% inactivation at 14 hours, increasing to 99.99% inactivation after 28 hours. - https://www.news-medical.net/life-sciences/The-Thermal-Inactivation-of-SARS-CoV-2.aspx https://www.news-medical.net/life-sciences/The-Thermal-Inact... Take that for what it's worth but I honestly thought that this was well known and uncontroversial. There are other factors, such as the dryness of the heat. But a surface under sunlight in a hot climate could easily hit over 40⁰C
- Someone 3y ago
  I don’t think you need a hot climate for that. Most surfaces absorb a lot more energy from sunlight than air does, making them hotter than air temperature. See for example https://web.archive.org/web/20150916052900/http://www.tom-morrow-land.com/tests/cartemp/index.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20150916052900/http://www.tom-mo..., which has car surfaces hitting 60°C while the air is about 28°C

Heat kills germs, and from memory SARS-CoV-2 is particularly vulnerable.

resolutebat 3y ago

Didn't stop COVID from rampaging through plenty of hot places like India.

mcmoor 3y ago
They have unexpectedly lower excess death from initial covid... Until delta variant comes which isn't fazed at all by summer of 2021.
- emmelaich 3y ago
  Indeed, it varies by strain. I was remarking on the initial variant, but I have not followed up on the later variants.
emmelaich 3y ago
Just means there's more than just heat at play, which is sorta obvious.

Sakos 3y ago

Not quite. The cold temporarily weakens our immune systems, particularly in our upper respiratory tract. Couple that with increased proximity to other people in many places when people are more likely to use public transport.

emmelaich 3y ago
One does not negate the other.
- Sakos 3y ago
  I've not seen studies suggesting that the heat in warmer climates is warm enough to kill off germs in a way that would be relevant. I have seen studies showing the impact of cold on our immune systems. Feel free to provide sources though.

emmelaich 3y ago

> Mathematical models developed by Seifer & Elbaum (2020) aimed to assess the inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 at physiologically relevant temperatures, i.e. around 40⁰C, and at mild extremes of up to 60⁰C. In cell culture SARS-CoV-2 showed a 99.99% fold reduction in activity after incubation at 56⁰C for 15 minutes, which was in line with the predictions made by the mathematical model, lending some credence to the work. At a normal body temperature of 37⁰C, the model predicts 99.99% inactivation after 48 hours, while a mildly elevated temperature of 39⁰C is expected to induce 99% inactivation at 14 hours, increasing to 99.99% inactivation after 28 hours. - https://www.news-medical.net/life-sciences/The-Thermal-Inactivation-of-SARS-CoV-2.aspx https://www.news-medical.net/life-sciences/The-Thermal-Inact... Take that for what it's worth but I honestly thought that this was well known and uncontroversial. There are other factors, such as the dryness of the heat. But a surface under sunlight in a hot climate could easily hit over 40⁰C

Someone 3y ago
I don’t think you need a hot climate for that. Most surfaces absorb a lot more energy from sunlight than air does, making them hotter than air temperature. See for example https://web.archive.org/web/20150916052900/http://www.tom-morrow-land.com/tests/cartemp/index.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20150916052900/http://www.tom-mo..., which has car surfaces hitting 60°C while the air is about 28°C