[ad_1]
Representative image (Reuters)
Leonardo Setti of the University of Bologna in Italy said it was imperative to investigate whether the coronavirus could be transported through air pollution.
- News18.com
- Last update: April 25, 2020 9:09 AM IST
The new coronavirus has been found in air pollution particles by scientists who are studying whether this could allow the virus to advance longer distances, resulting in more people contracting it, The Guardian reported.
The work is still in its infancy, and it has not yet been determined if the virus can survive in contaminating particles and in sufficient quantity to cause infection.
Italian scientists used standard techniques to obtain samples of outdoor air pollution at an urban and industrial location in the province of Bergamo. They recognized a particular Covid-19 gene in various samples and this identification was established by blind testing in an independent laboratory.
Leonardo Setti of the University of Bologna in Italy, who led the study, said it was imperative to investigate whether the virus could be transported through air pollution.
“I am a scientist and I am concerned when I don’t know,” he told The Guardian. “If we know, we can find a solution.” But if we don’t know, we can only suffer the consequences, “he added.
In addition to this, two other research groups have indicated that air pollution particles could allow the coronavirus to move through the air.
A statistical study by Setti’s team indicates that the highest levels of particle contamination could describe the highest rates of infection in areas of northern Italy before a strict blockade is established. It should be noted that this is one of the most polluted parts of Europe.
The studies done by Setti’s team have not been peer reviewed and therefore have not been endorsed by independent scientists. However, experts agree that theory is possible and deserves investigation.
Previous studies have also revealed that air pollution particles cling to microbes and that the contamination likely carried other viruses that cause bird flu, measles, etc. a long distance.
The possibility that air pollution particles carry viruses is related to a general query about how the new coronavirus spreads. Large virus-filled drops of coughs and sneezes from infected people can collapse a few meters away. However, the smallest droplets, less than 5 microns in diameter, could remain suspended in midair for minutes and even hours and advance further, according to the Guardian report.
Experts aren’t sure if these tiny airborne drops can cause Covid-19 infections, but they know how the SARS 2003 coronavirus was transmitted through the air.
Scientists say the possibility of airborne transmission and the role of polluting particles should not be ruled out without evidence. Professor Jonathan Reid, from the University of Bristol in the UK, is studying airborne coronavirus transmission and told The Guardian: “Perhaps not surprisingly, while suspended in the air, the tiny droplets can combine with urban background particles and being transported. ”
He added that the virus had been found in small droplets collected indoors in China.
