Influence of temperature, humidity on COVID positivity in Odisha

ABSTRACT

Background:The spread of COVID 19 has not been uniform across various states of India, which encounters significant spatio-temporal variations in the climatic conditions. As, seasonal cycle plays a dynamic role in spread of respiratory In- fections, we aimed to ascertain the Influence of temperature, humidity and seasonal variability on COVID positivity in a tertiary care testing hospital of Odisha Methods:Samples collected from patients attending AIIMS, Bhubaneswar and from other districts for detection of Covid-19 were tested at our lab by RTPCR. A retrospective month wise comparative analysis of the Covid -19 positivity rate of samples tested during the months of March to November 2020 was done with temperature and humidity Results:Out of 56,874 samples tested, 9,484(16.6%) were positive by real time reverse transcriptase PCR. As Odisha is a costal state it has high humidity and temperature as compared to rest of India. The mean humidity along with the mean temperature were com- pared to COVID positivity [Formula presented] Conclusions:In our study period over 9 months, Mon- soon months showed surge in positive cases peaking in August and September, and autumn months showed a downward trend.