BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th August, 2020) Long-term exposure to air pollution makes people more susceptible to respiratory conditions, becoming one of many comorbidity factors in COVID-19 patients, Dr Jean-Luc Gala, an infectious diseases specialist and professor at the UCLouvain University medical school, told Sputnik on the heels of the recent study about a link between dirty air and coronavirus mortality.
On Thursday, the UK's Office of National Statistics said that exposure to dirty air over long term may increase the risk of contracting and dying from coronavirus by up to 7 percent. The research, however, indicates that "highly detailed individual-based modelling" is needed to establish the exact link between pollution and worst impacts of the virus, and rule out other possible factors.
"There are clear signs of a correlation, but it is not an explanation for the development of the pandemic," Gala said.
He cited the example of northern Italy, where he had previously organized a mobile laboratory that conducted month-long extensive testing of the population as part of a European study on COVID-19.
"In industrial regions where the air is very polluted, such as the Piedmont and Lombardy region in Italy, or in large cities where pollution from traffic and heating of buildings is concentrated, there are much more respiratory conditions, and it is an obvious co-morbidity factor for the coronavirus which is transmitted through the air," the expert noted.
Another aspect, he went on, is that "the virus is also suspected of being transported over considerable distances by air pollution particles," but the issue is controversial and still under study.
"The virus is transported but is it still dangerous?" he wondered.
Air pollution is an "important" comorbidity factor in regions like the Benelux and German Ruhr, but "not a causal factor of the pandemic," according to the expert. It is only one of many factors that may potentially increase the risk of contracting and dying from COVID-19.
"In Piedmont - Lombardy, where our team has worked a lot, there are also other aggravating factors of the epidemic. The way of life is more family-oriented, more gregarious in Italy. Grandparents take more care of small children than elsewhere, and it is also the 'oldest' region of Italy; Lombardy has the highest average age on the peninsula. This is a combination of risk factors, which explains the severity of the pandemic in this region," Gala explained.
As for studies on the link between air pollution and the pandemic, they should continue, according to the professor.
