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The rapid spread of COVID-19 can be mainly attributed to the high infectivity of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but a new study has linked high incidence and mortality with environmental factors, especially PM 2.5.
This is what came out in the study-
Researchers at the National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan revealed that PM2.5 affected the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and then the severity of the disease. Several previous studies have demonstrated a relationship between COVID-19 disease rates and air pollution levels. Studies indicated that PM2.5 may act as an environmental carrier facilitating the transmission of SARS-CoV-2.
This new research, published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, found in mice that PM2.5 induced the protein abundance of ACE2, the receptor for SARS-CoV-2, and then increased SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus infection in vitro and in vivo.
The team said in the research paper that our current results provide the first evidence in vitro and in vivo that exposure to PM2.5 increased ACE2 expression and worsened SARS-CoV-2 infection. PM2.5 inhalation disturbed the expression of RAS proteins, increased the abundance of ACE and ACE2 proteins in the lungs of mice, and increased the morbidity of SARS-CoV-2.
Linked to COVID symptoms-
Another recent study published in Environmental Health Perspectives linked air pollution to long-lasting Covid symptoms such as fatigue, breathlessness, and cognitive problems.
Researchers at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) in Spain showed that air pollution can affect the severity of acute infection. As a result, exposure to PM2a.5 and PM10 can increase the risk of Covid. The researchers said that although air pollution is not directly responsible for long Covid, it can increase the severity of the initial infection, which in turn increases the risk of long Covid.
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