A good article in the DT this morning about something I imagine we all grew up with - the benefit of opening windows. Apologies for a longish cut and paste but I hope it is worth it.
“While we await, with guarded optimism, the much-heralded Covid-19 vaccine, simpler (and much cheaper) protective measures should not be neglected. Hence the concern expressed by Professor Edward Lynch in this paper last week after noting the windows were closed in 78 out of the 80 buses he recently observed passing Waterloo Station. “Good ventilation is extremely important,” he writes, a view echoed in an article in the Journal of Hospital Infection describing the role of fresh air in combating infectious illnesses prior to the discovery of antibiotics.
Fresh air is lethal to most viruses... and loses its potency when outdoor air is enclosed
The twin goals of promoting recovery while also preventing cross-infection and reinfection were addressed, writes Dr Richard Hobday, by nursing patients next to an open window or placing them in their beds outside. He cites too the experience of the Camp Brooks Open Air Hospital near Boston, built at short notice at the height of the devastating 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic. In good weather, patients spent virtually all their time outdoors, kept warm in their beds at night by hot water bottles and extra blankets. The survival rate was almost twice that of conventional hospitals while just two out of the 150 staff contracted the highly contagious virus.
Subsequently, Dr Hobday reports that scientists in the Sixties identified an “open-air factor” in fresh air that is specifically lethal to most bacteria and viruses, and which loses its potency when outdoor air is enclosed. So, open those windows – and for those lucky enough to have a garden, a firepit – sales of which are booming – should hopefully see them through the winter months unscathed.”
