Peaks of Fine Particulate Matter May Modulate the Spreading and Virulence of COVID-19.
COVID-19
Desert dust intrusions
PM2.5 air pollution
Thermal inversion
Journal
Earth systems and environment
ISSN: 2509-9434
Titre abrégé: Earth Syst Environ
Pays: Switzerland
ID NLM: 9918284168606676
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
2020
2020
Historique:
received:
08
10
2020
accepted:
04
11
2020
pubmed:
2
11
2021
medline:
2
11
2021
entrez:
1
11
2021
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
A probe of a patient, seeking help in an emergency ward of a French hospital in late December 2019 because of Influenza like symptoms, was retrospectively tested positive to COVID-19. Despite the early appearance of the virus in Europe, the prevalence and virulence appeared to be low for several weeks, before the spread and severity of symptoms increased exponentially, yet with marked spatial and temporal differences. Here, we compare the possible linkages between peaks of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and the sudden, explosive increase of hospitalizations and mortality rates in the Swiss Canton of Ticino, and the Greater Paris and London regions. We argue that these peaks of fine particulate matter are primarily occurring during thermal inversion of the boundary layer of the atmosphere. We also discuss the influence of Saharan dust intrusions on the COVID-19 outbreak observed in early 2020 on the Canary Islands. We deem it both reasonable and plausible that high PM2.5 concentrations-favored by air temperature inversions or Saharan dust intrusions-are not only modulating but even more so boosting severe outbreaks of COVID-19. Moreover, desert dust events-besides enhancing PM2.5 concentrations-can be a vector for fungal diseases, thereby exacerbating COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. We conclude that the overburdening of the health services and hospitals as well as the high over-mortality observed in various regions of Europe in spring 2020 may be linked to peaks of PM2.5 and likely particular weather situations that have favored the spread and enhanced the virulence of the virus. In the future, we recommended to monitor not only the prevalence of the virus, but also to consider the occurrence of weather situations that can lead to sudden, very explosive COVID-19 outbreaks.
Identifiants
pubmed: 34723075
doi: 10.1007/s41748-020-00184-4
pii: 184
pmc: PMC7679238
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Pagination
789-796Informations de copyright
© The Author(s) 2020.
Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts
Conflict of InterestThe authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this comment.
Références
Eur Respir J. 2020 May 7;55(5):
pubmed: 32269084
J Hosp Infect. 2020 Jun;105(2):381-382
pubmed: 32360356
CMAJ. 2020 May 25;192(21):E566-E573
pubmed: 32385067
Lancet. 1995 Jan 21;345(8943):176-8
pubmed: 7741860
Environ Int. 2020 Jun;139:105730
pubmed: 32294574
Arch Bronconeumol. 2021 Jul;57(7):464-470
pubmed: 35698952
Clin Microbiol Rev. 2007 Jul;20(3):459-77, table of contents
pubmed: 17630335
N Engl J Med. 2020 Apr 16;382(16):1564-1567
pubmed: 32182409
Int J Biometeorol. 2018 Jul;62(7):1167-1179
pubmed: 29572569
Proc R Soc Med. 1964 Oct;57:SUPPL:969-75
pubmed: 14212573
Environ Sci Technol. 2014;48(3):1499-507
pubmed: 24456276
Sci Total Environ. 2014 Oct 1;494-495:283-9
pubmed: 25051327
Part Fibre Toxicol. 2018 Jan 3;15(1):1
pubmed: 29298690
J Microbiol Immunol Infect. 2018 Feb;51(1):141-147
pubmed: 28065414
Environ Health. 2016 Feb 11;15:17
pubmed: 26864833
Toxicol Sci. 2005 Jun;85(2):990-1002
pubmed: 15772371
Earth Syst Environ. 2020;4(3):513-522
pubmed: 34723073
Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2013 Nov 1;188(9):1170-1
pubmed: 24180450
Lancet Microbe. 2020 Jun;1(2):e53-e55
pubmed: 32835328
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Aug 02;17(15):
pubmed: 32748812
Int J Infect Dis. 2020 Jul;96:384-386
pubmed: 32425635
Sci Rep. 2019 Feb 18;9(1):2185
pubmed: 30778136
Part Fibre Toxicol. 2014 Oct 30;11:57
pubmed: 25358535
Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2018 Sep 15;198(6):759-766
pubmed: 29652174
N Engl J Med. 2004 Apr 22;350(17):1731-9
pubmed: 15102999
Environ Res. 2021 Mar;194:110626
pubmed: 33345895
Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 1999 Sep;72(6):366-76
pubmed: 10473836
Indoor Air. 2006 Oct;16(5):335-47
pubmed: 16948710
Eur Respir J. 2020 Oct 1;56(4):
pubmed: 32703771
Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2020 Jun;55(6):106006
pubmed: 32371096
J Hosp Infect. 2020 Jul;105(3):569-570
pubmed: 32405126
Sci Rep. 2020 Feb 11;10(1):2321
pubmed: 32047168
Sci Total Environ. 2010 Nov 1;408(23):5729-36
pubmed: 20855107
BMJ. 2020 May 4;369:m1810
pubmed: 32366374
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 Jun 2;117(22):11875-11877
pubmed: 32404416
J Mycol Med. 2020 Jun;30(2):100971
pubmed: 32307254
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 Apr 30;116(18):8657-8666
pubmed: 30988177