Scientist names when 31 diseases most commonly strike in different seasons

It's not just flu that's seasonal.

At least 31 diseases are more likely to strike at specific times of the year, according to research. 

The hazy summer months cause a spike in cases of gonorrhoea, genital herpes and syphilis cases in the northern hemisphere.

And chickenpox peaks in spring, which may be due to the virus thriving under warm, wet conditions, researchers say. 

The study also found going 'back to school' in September causes a surge in the highly infectious disease measles among children.

Here, MailOnline lists when you are most more likely to be struck down with 31 different diseases - and the results may surprise you.

Professor Micaela Martinez analysed statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, and the European Center for Prevention and Control to come up with a list of infectious diseases 'of public health interest'.

Professor Martinez, from the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, then assessed dozens of scientific papers to determine if these conditions peak during different seasons of the year.

Some diseases had several studies dedicated to their seasonality, while other more rare disorders had just one.

Professor Martinez also discovered diseases can peak at varying times of the year in different countries depending on their temperature and rainfall.

The study was published in the journal PLOS Pathogens.  

SO WHAT ARE THE 31 DISEASES, AND WHAT SEASON ARE THEY MOST COMMON IN?

SUMMER

• Brucellosis
• Chagas disease
• Cholera
• Diphtheria
• Genital herpes
• Gonorrhoea
• Hepatitis B
• Legionnaires' disease
• Lyme disease
• Polio
• Rubella
• Shigella
• Shingles
• Syphilis
• TB
• Tetanus
• Typhoid fever
• Viral meningitis
• Weil's disease
• West Nile Virus
• Whooping cough

SPRING 

• Chagas disease 
• Chickenpox 
• Diptheria 
• Genital herpes 
• Hepatitis B 
• Rotavirus 
• Salmonella

AUTUMN

• Gonorrhoea  
• Measles 
• Whooping cough

WINTER 

• Bacterial pneumonia
• Bird flu 
• Haemophilus influenzae 
• Flu 
• Rotavirus 
• Rubella

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