Pollution is a tragedy for our health. That’s not a scoop. It increases the risk of hypertension, diabetes, and of course respiratory problems. But in the case of this coronavirus crisis, it plays a determining role, both in the virulence of the symptoms of Covid-19 and in the risks of being infected with it, explains Le Parisien.
Ecology is delighted to see air pollution drop drastically thanks to containment. The air had not been so “pure” in Paris for over 40 years. Good news ? You have no idea how much! If our city-dwellers’ lungs are resting – and this is already very good – the drop in pollution could also avoid an aggravating factor in Covid-19 contamination.
Pollution can carry viruses
Le Parisien reports the words of Isabella Annessi-Maesano, epidemiologist at Inserm, who explains that the pollution is likely to be a “virus transport vector“, and therefore of Covid-19. She explains: “Fine particle pollution damages the mucous membranes and the airways and is also a factor in the aggregation of viruses, bacteria and pollens.“. Polluted air is capable of carrying a lot of things … even heavy metals! It underlines the link between air quality and the regions most affected by Covid-19. In China, in Italy from North or even South Korea, three major points of the epidemic, the industry pollutes the air in droves.
On the other hand, air pollution abyss lungs, makes breathing more difficult and therefore … puts the inhabitants of polluted spaces potentially more in danger once the virus is contracted. The European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) has also expressed its concerns on this subject. In 2003, at the time of SARS, scientists realized that patients in areas with poor air quality saw their risk of mortality increase by 84% compared to others.
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