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Environ Anal Health Toxicol
. 2020 Dec;35(4):e2020020-0.
doi: 10.5620/eaht.2020020. Epub 2020 Nov 2.
Air pollution enhances susceptibility to novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection - an impact study
S Maheswari 1 , Rajarajan Pethannan 1 , Shanthi Sabarimurugan 2 3
Affiliations
- PMID: 33434420
- DOI: 10.5620/eaht.2020020
Abstract
On concurring to the current evidence, the myriad of vulnerable COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 19) transmission is acquiring through human-to-human transmission through droplets, which is depicting devastating pandemic. Urbanization and industrialization are the major contributing factors to the on-going change in global climate, with increased air pollution and poor air quality. As the global climate and air quality deteriorate, air pollutants remain as a fundamental concern to public health. Air pollution has been globally acknowledged as a major influence and exacerbating factor for human morbidity and mortality influenced on various respiratory diseases such as lung cancer, bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, pneumonia, asthma, and influenza. Patients by long - term exposure to polluted air leads to chronic lung and heart conditions are less able to fight off lung infections and likely to die. Polluted air in developed countries is causing heart and lung damage and is responsible for early deaths in a year. This is also likely the case for COVID-19. The more severe impact by COVID-19 on city dwellers and those exposed to toxic fumes leads to the primary health damage such as respiratory infections than on others. The health damage inflicted on people by long-standing air pollution in cities is likely to increase the death rate by COVID-19. By lowering air pollution levels probability to reduce the spread of most vulnerable viruses by aerosol to fight against any possible future pandemics.
Keywords: COVID-19; MERS; SARS; air pollutants; respiratory diseases.