Viral infections
Physiology underpins notion that colds are caught more readily in cool weather
Source: Shutterstock.com
The notion that people are more likely to catch a cold in cool weather appears to be grounded in physiology
The popular but contested notion that people are more likely to catch a cold in cool weather appears to be grounded in physiology.
It is already known that most strains of rhinovirus (RV) — the common cold virus — replicate better at the cooler temperatures found in the nasal cavity (33–35 degrees Celsius) than at core body temperature (37 degrees Celsius). Now, a study in mice has shown that the strength of antiviral immune response in infected cells also varies according to temperature, being strongest at higher temperatures and diminished at lower temperatures.
“These findings compel further investigation of how host responses to infection affect the temperature range permissive for RV replication and thereby impact the pathogenesis of RV-associated diseases,” write Ellen Foxman and co-authors in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (online, 5 January 2015)[1].
Citation: The Pharmaceutical Journal DOI: 10.1211/PJ.2015.20067598
Recommended from Pharmaceutical Press

Pharmaceutical Press is the publishing division of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, and is a leading provider of authoritative pharmaceutical information used throughout the world.
Visit rpharms.com
Have your say
For commenting, please login or register as a user and agree to our Community Guidelines. You will be re-directed back to this page where you will have the ability to comment.