Figure 4

The distribution of respiratory viral pathogens in the local climate of Zhuhai during 2010. Zhuhai is located in the southern tip of Mainland China and is a subtropical coastal city with a humid climate and small diurnal air temperature range. The average monthly air temperature ranged 16–29.4°C and the average monthly relative humidity varied between 65.9-90.8% in Zhuhai during 2010. When the temperature rose, the number of patients infected with sFluA (H3N2) and ADV increased significantly (r = 0.592, P = 0.043 and r = 0.699, P = 0.011; respectively). Alternatively, the colder the temperature became, the number of patients infected with RSV increased (r = 0.699, P = 0.011). In addition, the prevalence of sFluB was significantly, positively correlated with air relative humidity (r = 0.697, P < 0.001).