Yale researchers say they have discovered a “possible mechanism” by which cold temperatures may aid the incubation of cold viruses.

Yale researchers identify ‘possible mechanism’ by which cold weather may help to spread cold viruses
A new study by Yale researchers suggests that cool temperatures can play a role in causing the common cold, by inhibiting the virus-fighting ability of cells in the nose.

It’s a commonly held belief that catching a chill can bring on a nasty cold. However, researchers have long argued the point, noting that people can transmit and catch cold viruses year round.

Now, in a paper published Monday in the journal PNAS, a team of researchers studying mice has concluded that most rhinoviruses reproduce more efficiently at temperatures slightly lower than body temperature, or 98.6 degrees.

Rhinoviruses are the most frequent cause of the common cold, and they can also trigger asthma attacks.

Lead study author Dr. Ellen Foxman, a researcher at Yale University School of Medicine, and her colleagues, set out to investigate how temperature can affect immune response.

Good hypothesis and data appears to indicate a more extensive study. Last winter I again told my brother you cannot catch a virus “common cold” from low temperatures without being exposed to the virus. He suggested lower body temperature may let a virus take hold which I conceded…

The researchers studied how a mouse-adapted cold virus fared in the rodent nasal cavity — which typically is a temperature of 91 to 95 degrees — and compared that to viral spread within the lungs — which have a temperature of 98.6 degrees.

What they discovered was that when a virus invaded warmer cells, the host cells produced significantly more interferons — proteins that “interfere” with the spread of a virus by warning healthy cells of its presence and setting off an immune response.

In the cooler nasal cavity cells, this warning system was less efficient however, and allowed the virus to spread more easily.
Study authors wrote that it was “intriguing to consider the possibility that inhaling cool air might diminish resistance to respiratory virus infections by lowering the temperature of potential host cells lining the nasal cavity.”

“Our observations therefore provide a possible mechanism for the popular but controversial idea that exposure to cool weather conditions can increase susceptibility to common colds.”