May SARS-CoV-2 Diffusion Be Favored by Alkaline Aerosols and Ammonia Emissions?

Abstract

Ammonia is a common factor linking air in bat caves and air pollution in the proximity of agricultural fields treated with livestock farming sewage and slaughterhouses, where important clusters of COVID-19 have recently been reported all over the world. Such a commonality has a further connection with the known behavior of some viruses of the coronavirus family, such as the murine hepatitis virus, whose spike glycoprotein (S) can be triggered to a membrane-binding conformation at pH 8.0. Within the airborne route of virus transmission, with particular relevance for crowded and enclosed environments, these observations have prompted a hypothesis that may represent a contributing cause to interpret the geographical variability of the virus diffusion and the surging rise of COVID-19 cases in slaughterhouses all over the world. The hypothesis is that, in these environments, the SARS-CoV-2 S protein may find on a fraction of the airborne particles an alkaline pH, favorable to trigger the conformational changes, needed to induce the fusion of the viral envelope with the plasma membrane of the target cells.

Comparison of ammonia air concentration before and during the spread of COVID-19 in Lombardy (Italy) using ground-based and satellite data

“…However, NH 3 influence on secondary aerosol is significant as it is a recognized precursor ( Perone, 2021 ). Moreover, Zheng et al (2020) and Manigrasso et al (2020) discussed the possibility that SARS-CoV-2 spread is favored by a mild alkaline pH of airborne particles, and thus related to ammonia-polluted environments such as the Po Valley. To support this hypothesis, in the world 28 hotspots were identified with an NH 3 column concentration above 0.5 mg/m 2 , which were linked to either biomass burning and fires or (and especially) agricultural areas, in particular with agricultural valleys surrounded by mountains, such as the case of Po valley in Northern Italy.…”

An Epidemiological Study to Investigate Links between Atmospheric Pollution from Farming and SARS-CoV-2 Mortality

“…The data provided by the above-cited studies [49][50][51][52] suggest that a link between excess COVID-19-related mortality and farming-related atmospheric pollutants is biologically plausible. The specific association we found between COVID-19-related mortality and NH 3 might be explained by the hypothesis that atmospheric NH 3 leads to the formation of an alkaline aerosol which triggers a conformation change in the SARS-CoV-2 spike that facilitates fusion of the viral envelope with the plasma membrane of target cells [53]. It is noteworthy that clusters of SARS-CoV-2 infection have been reported in association with slaughterhouses [54], which are known to have elevated levels of NH 3 [55].…”

An Ecological Study to Investigate Links Between Atmospheric Pollutants From Farming and SARS-CoV-2 Mortality

“…The data provided by the above cited-studies [45][46][47][48] suggests that a link between excess COVID-19-related mortality and farming-related atmospheric pollutants is biologically plausible. The specific association we found between COVID-19-related mortality and NH3 might be explained by the hypothesis that atmospheric NH3 leads to the formation of alkaline aerosol which triggers a conformation change in the SARS-CoV-2 spike that facilitates fusion of the viral envelope with the plasma membrane of target cells [49]. It is noteworthy that clusters of SARS-CoV-2 infection have been reported in association with slaughterhouses [50] which are known to have elevated levels of NH3 [51].…”

“…CoV-2 spike that facilitates fusion of the viral envelope with the plasma membrane of target cells [49]. It is noteworthy that clusters of SARS-CoV-2 infection have been reported in association with slaughterhouses [50] which are known to have elevated levels of NH3 [51].…”