Ambient ozone and influenza transmissibility in Hong Kong

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), sulfur dioxides (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitric oxide (NO) and particulate matter 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 ultraviolet radiation and absolute humidity. Higher levels of ambient ozone are associated with reduced influenza transmissibility <http://ow.ly/zr9030j3Tcn> The authors thank Julie Au (The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China) for technical assistance.