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Airborne dust pollution increases coronavirus-related mortality, according to a new Swiss study. Epidemiologists have long known the link between high concentrations of dust in the air and the severity of an influenza pandemic.
A multidisciplinary research team from the University of Geneva and the Technical University of Zurich has now investigated the link between the extraordinarily large number of fine particles and the infectivity of the new coronavirus.
According to research in Italy and France, the new type of coronavirus was already present in Europe at the end of last year, but only this spring was a sharp increase in morbidity and mortality observed.
At the end of February this year, after a period of fog in the Swiss cantons of Ticino, Magadino and Sottoceneri, there was an explosive increase in the number of hospital cases due to Covid-19.
Increases in particulate pollution are particularly common on the Swiss plateau, where the formation of fog makes it difficult to exchange air masses. In this case, the emitted gases accumulate in the layer of air below the fog. Additionally, winds from Sahara sandstorms are often carried into the country by the winds.
Swiss researchers have shown that exceptionally high concentrations of fine particles, especially those smaller than two and a half micrometers, can cause inflammation in the airways, the vascular system, and make the blood thicker.
Fine particles can also carry the coronavirus,
this has also been shown for influenza. And an Italian study found the RNA of the new coronavirus in fly ash particles.
(Cover image: Foggy weather in Cologne on November 5, 2020. Photo: NurPhoto / Getty Images Hungary)
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