Respiratory Viruses Easily Spread at Amusement Park

Several visitors to an unnamed New York City tourist attraction were found to be shedding common respiratory viruses, according to new research.

This study reported that 7.2 percent of people visiting this tourist attraction tested positive for two types of respiratory virus.

Of those positive 71 percent of the screened tourists were detected to have rhinovirus, and 21 percent tested positive for coronavirus.

This study’s sampling also detected influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, and para-influenza in these tourists.

More than 200 viruses can cause the common cold, and infections can spread from person to person through the air and close personal contact. Rhinovirus is the most common type of virus that causes colds, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Jeffrey Shaman, Ph.D., associate professor of environmental health sciences at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and colleagues said their findings “indicate that significant levels of asymptomatic respiratory viral shedding exist during summer among the ambulatory population.”

Viral shedding refers to the expulsion and release of virus progeny following successful reproduction during a host-cell infection.

To determine rates of both symptomatic and asymptomatic infection among ambulatory adults, these researchers collected nasopharyngeal swabs, demographics, and survey information from 1,477 adult visitors during April-July 2016.

Dr. Shaman told Infectious Disease News that “The population sampled were persons 18 and over, and most under 65, which is not the demographic most impacted by viral respiratory infection.”

“This indicates that these (respiratory) viruses are everywhere,” Dr. Shaman continued.

“The critical unanswered question is an asymptomatic infection as contagious as a symptomatic infection? If they are just as contagious, then effective control of the spread these viruses, for example, the next pandemic is much more challenging.

Since the common cold is caused by viruses, antibiotics will not help it get better and may even cause harm in both children and adults. Your healthcare professional can give you tips to help with symptoms like fever and coughing.

Disclosures: Shaman and Columbia University report equity in SK Analytics.

Researchers: Jeffrey Shaman, Ph.D. Haruka Morita, MPH Ruthie Birger, Ph.D. Mary Boyle, MDDevon Comito, MS Benjamin Lane, BS Chanel Ligon, BA Hannah Smith, BARob Desalle, Ph.D. Paul Planet, MD.