Can a cold snap really cause a cold?
Health officials are unsure if the return to normal winter temperatures this week could cause the flu season to pick up speed.
Temperatures hit 72 in at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport Saturday. But a heavy rainstorm Sunday night not only caused flooding in areas including downtown Annapolis, but ushered in a cold front that chilled the area.
Today?s high was predicted to be 48, with a low of around 31 at night. Flurries may even occur, said Jackie Hale, spokesperson for the National Weather Service.
The flu season has been off to a slow start this year, said Christine Pearson, spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But there is not enough evidence to determine if the chill may cause flu cases to spike.
“Some scientists say there are more cases of flu during cold weather because people are often in closer contact with each other,” Pearson said. “But we get cases of flu in warm weather states too, so it?s hard to say.”
Flu cases may be slower this year because of increased efforts to vaccinate school-aged children, said Dan Levy, president of the Maryland Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Healthy people between the ages of 5 and 49 can use a new nasal spray influenza vaccine that research shows creates a stronger immune reaction. In some cases, entire elementary schools have taken the nasal vaccine.
“The relationship of weather to children?s health is fraught will alot of old wives? tales,” Levy said.
The fact that children are the main source of flu outbreaks is not a myth, he said. They catch the virus at school and spread it to their parents, grandparents and other children.
