Wildfires, asthma and other underlying health conditions that leave parts of California and other western states are a major threat to people who are already at risk of serious Covid-19 complications.
Wildfire smoke can weaken the immune system and cause respiratory illnesses, and experts worry that combining these effects with the coronavirus could lead to more serious cases, even death.
U.S. As the epidemic continues, with nearly 200,000 people killed in, the western part of the country is facing a double crisis that could have an impact.
Dr. David, a spokesman for the American Lung Association. “The level of air pollution we’re seeing in the Northwest right now is a concern for everyone,” said David Hill.
“So, of course, we will be concerned. But with COVID circulating, they get infected because of poor air quality and can get worse than COVID-19, ”he added.
Wildfire has been raging in the western states for weeks, killing at least 34 people, according to the Associated Press.
When firefighters burn it releases pollutants that can degrade air quality, known as particulate matter, which causes inflammation in the lungs and is also linked to heart problems. The elderly and people with underlying health conditions such as asthma and lung disease are at the highest risk of developing serious illness from both COVID-19 and poor air quality caused by wildfires.
On Thursday, the city of Portland, Re., Recorded “dangerous” levels of small particulate matter, known as fine particulate matter or PM2.5. Other cities, such as Seattle, Salem, Ore., And Fresno, Calif., Showed unhealthy or very unhealthy pollution levels on Thursday.
In the short term, it can cause shortness of breath, cough, sore throat and eye irritation, increasing the potential symptoms in people with asthma or lung disease. It can also increase the risk of lung disease and respiratory infections, including COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While there is little research on the effects of wildfire smoke on covid-1 illness, hospitalizations for other respiratory infections, especially during wildfire asons tuo, are being conducted by an assistant professor of pulmonology at the University of California, San Francisco. Said Stephanie Christens.
“We don’t know for sure if the Covid-19 will go bad in a wildfire situation, but we can guess it’s true,” he said.
“If you get irritated by something like Wildfires and you get Covid-19 which also causes inflammation at the top, which can compound each other and cause hospitalization or other bad consequences.”
Inflammation from fire smoke can occur in the last week or month, potentially delaying the recovery of COVID-19 patients or making them ill.
Mary Prunicki, Director of Air Pollution and Health Research Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford Sean Ann, Said the start of the fire at the university hospital has seen an increase in admissions for various issues.
Three weeks after the onset of the fire, asthma penetration has increased by 17 percent compared to the three weeks of the week, 14 percent for cardiovascular disorders, 43 percent for stroke-like cerebrovascular disorders, 18 percent, and 15 percent for substance-abuse disorders. , He said, citing Stanford researcher Bibek Poudel’s analysis.
Pruniki also said the elderly have had even worse results and noted that socioeconomic factors may play a role in who is affected as those with more money may flee to other areas.
For those who can’t travel safely, Prunic said, fA particle substance can cause problems because its small size allows it to reach many parts of the body.
“Wildfire smoke is mostly PM2.5, and because we care so much about it with human health because it’s small enough – it’s about 1/30 the width of a human hair – it’s small enough to cross Once in the bloodstream it breathes into the lungs, while larger particles cannot do it. And so it can cause a lot of … organ problems after it gets into the bloodstream.
Studies have already linked long-term exposure to PM2.5 to a bad coronavirus outcome.
Researchers at State University of New York (Sunny) linked exposure to high levels of the substance to a percent percent increase in mortality, while a Harvard study found that someone living in a low-volume area was one percent more likely. Death from the virus
Michael Peroni, who worked on the Sunny study, said wildfires are short-term events and his study looks at long-term exposure, although he believes it can still be helpful to look at wildfires because That “more dangerous air pollutants and dust are in the air … will affect how we as a population are able to fight these respiratory diseases. “
Medical experts also say that people are at increased risk of other diseases due to the adverse effects of wildfire smoke on the immune system.
“We don’t know much about coronavirus and wildfire smoke, but the information we have on wildfire smoke indicates that it has the ability to suppress our immune system and make us a victim of coronavirus,” said Luke Montroz, an environmentalist. Toxicologist and Assistant Professor at Boise State University.
The combination of Wildfire and Covid-19 is also posing challenges to the epidemic response. Diseases caused by both can have similar symptoms, creating confusion as to when people should be tested for COVID-19 or see a doctor.
Preventive measures are also becoming more complex. While people are generally encouraged to participate in outdoor activities because the virus spreads more easily indoors, residents with poor air quality are asked to stay indoors. The only mask that protects against both smoking and Cavid-19 is the N95 respirator, which is in short supply and generally reserved for health care workers.
Meanwhile, coronavirus fires make it difficult to cope, as volunteers who normally clean undergrowth and brushes have to stay home, and firefighters face staff shortages due to the infection.
“We have this huge amount of smoking that is pushing whole communities. That’s the decent thing to do, and it should end there. ” “The dose is too high. The duration is long and … the frequency of exposure is many. “
.
