If you have time please google for pictures of the current smog pictures in China. It looks like suspended dirt. It appears that it is hard to see more than a couple of feet ahead in some locations. I understand some air flights have been cancelled due to the lack of visibility. Here is a link to a picture of the smog:

Eyewitness: Shengfang, China
https://www.theguardian.com/world/picture/2016/dec/22/eyewitness-shengfang-china?CMP=twt_gu
Photographs from the Eyewitness series




As far as the title above:

Officials say there is no "smog virus". There are a lot of respiratory illnesses circulating this winter, including flu.


Link available upon request.