Researchers from the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Sydney, Australia, recently evaluated weather’s effect on the transmission of equine influenza.

"We have demonstrated in non-laboratory conditions how air temperature, humidity and wind velocity influence the spread of influenza viruses. It puts us in a much better position to understand an actual outbreak of influenza in horse populations, under natural conditions," said Navneet Dhand, PhD, MACVSc, MVSc, BVSc&AH, GradCert, senior lecturer and principal investigator of the research project.

The research team analyzed data from the 2007 equine influenza outbreak in Australia in addition to data provided by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology for the same time period.

The researchers determined horses were more likely to get infected on days when relative humidity was low and less likely to get infected on days when the maximum daily air temperature was 20 to 25°C (68 to 77°F)