Looking for benefits of climate change on human health?: first
signs of reductions in a shorter season for the RSV virus in the
UK Analysis of hospital admissions (1990-2004) and hospital lab
reports (1981-2004) across England and Wales suggest that the
season for the RSV virus (which is a prime cause of
bronchiolitis and pneumonia amongst small children, but can
affect all age groups) has been ending about 2 to 3 weeks
earlier for each degree of rise in regional annual air
temperatures. In contrast, rising temperatures have not affected
the onset of the season. Source: Donaldson, G.C. 2006. Climate
change and the end of the respiratory syncytial virus season.
Clinical Infectious Diseases 42:677-679.