Скачать или смотреть Air Pollution Making COVID-19 Spread Further?

Looking at coronavirus and air pollution. The Guardian is reporting that Coronavirus has been detected on particles of air pollution. Scientists are investigating whether this means coronavirus can be carrier over longer distances and increase the number of people infected.

Large virus-laden droplets from infected people’s coughs and sneezes fall to the ground within 1-2 metres. Photograph: Nick Gregory/Alamy

Its just a preliminary study by Italian scientists at the University of Bologna. They’re trying to see if the virus remains viable on pollution particles and in sufficient quantity to cause disease.

The Italian scientists collected outdoor air pollution samples at one urban and one industrial site in northern Italy which is one of the most polluted regions in Europe. It’s all playing out in Bergamo province. Apparently they identified a gene highly specific to Covid-19 in multiple samples.

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Previous studies have shown that pollution likely carried the viruses causing bird flu, measles and foot-and-mouth disease over considerable distances.

Prof Jonathan Reid is at Bristol University in the UK. He is doing similar research and says “It is perhaps not surprising that while suspended in air, the small droplets could combine with background urban particles and be carried around.”

One professor said think of it like this: The pollution particle is like a micro-airplane and the droplets are the passengers. Another professor indicating that tiny droplets between 0.1 and 1 micron may travel further when combining with pollution particles that themselves are up to 10 microns . This is because the combined particle is larger and less dense than the droplet and can stay up in the air longer.