Home humidification and influenza virus

A new report out in Environmental Health evaluates the effect of using portable humidifiers on absolute humidty levels and influenza virus survival in Northeast United States residences using an indoor air quality model. A portable humidifier in the bedroom was associated with a decrease in influenza virus survival from 17.5 – 31.6% and given the water vapor distribution throughout the entire residence they estimated a 7.8-13.9% house-wide reduction in influenza virus survival.  Something to think about as fall/winter approaches?

Environmental Health article