The short-term effects of air pollutants on influenza-like illness in Jinan, China

Abstract

Background There is valid evidence that air pollution is associated with respiratory disease. However, few studies have quantified the short-term effects of six air pollutants on influenza-like illness (ILI). This study explores the potential relationship between air pollutants and ILI in Jinan, China. Methods Daily data on the concentration of particulate matters < 2.5 μm (PM 2.5), particulate matters < 10 μm (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and ozone (O3) and ILI counts from 2016 to 2017 were retrieved. The wavelet coherence analysis and generalized poisson additive regression model were employed to qualify the relationship between air pollutants and ILI risk. The effects of air pollutants on different age groups were investigated. Results A total of 81,459 ILI counts were collected, and the average concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, O3, CO, SO2 and NO2 were 67.8 μg/m3, 131.76 μg/ m3, 109.85 μg/ m3, 1133 μg/ m3, 33.06 μg/ m3 and 44.38 μg/ m3, respectively. A 10 μg/ m3 increase in concentration of PM2.5, PM10, CO at lag0 and SO2 at lag01, was positively associated with a 1.0137 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.0083–1.0192), 1.0074 (95% CI: 1.0041–1.0107), 1.0288 (95% CI: 1.0127–1.0451), and 1.0008 (95% CI: 1.0003–1.0012) of the relative risk (RR) of ILI, respectively. While, O3 (lag5) was negatively associated with ILI (RR 0.9863; 95%CI: 0.9787–0.9939), and no significant association was observed with NO2, which can increase the incidence of ILI in the two-pollutant model. A short-term delayed impact of PM2.5, PM10, SO2 at lag02 and CO, O3 at lag05 was also observed. People aged 25–59, 5–14 and 0–4 were found to be significantly susceptible to PM2.5, PM10, CO; and all age groups were significantly susceptible to SO2; People aged ≥60 year, 5–14 and 0–4 were found to be significantly negative associations with O3. Conclusion Air pollutants, especially PM2.5, PM10, CO and SO2, can increase the risk of ILI in Jinan. The government should create regulatory policies to reduce the level of air pollutants and remind people to practice preventative and control measures to decrease the incidence of ILI on pollution days.

Effect of ambient air pollutants and meteorological factors on COVID-19 transmission

“…We believe PM 10 is also harmful respiratory tract to some extent as starts at 20 µm and beyond, PM is not able to penetrate below the trachea [31]. This might also explain our finding that PM 2.5 is more tightly correlated with the COVID-19 incidence than that of the PM 10 . The safety guideline concentration of PM 2.5 of PM 10 are 15 and 50 µg/m 3 by US EPA[32], respectively.…”

“…It is speculated that the airborne air pollutants provide "condensation nuclei" for virus to attach. This hypothesis was supported by the studies based on the observation of influenza-PM2.5 correlation [10][11][12]. Although the COVID-19 is known to cause human-to-human transmission by infectious secretions [3], these secretions can be transferred in many different ways.…”

“…Among pollution related health issues, ambient air pollutant has raised concerns over its association with infectious diseases, some of which have previously caused local epidemic [8][9][10]. It is speculated that the airborne air pollutants provide "condensation nuclei" for virus to attach.…”

A Clinical Study Measuring Dental Aerosols with and without a HVE Device

“…Historically, previous studies have shown that there is a positive correlation between PM2.5 and larger particulate sizes, and transmission of virus such as in uenza. [45] The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) carried out a study which showed that the Sars-CoV-2 virus was able to remain viable for upto 72 hours on some surfaces (32) One could argue that the risk of transmission in the dental setting via aerosols is minor as the aerosol droplets may be entirely from the waterline. However when we look at a study on splatter and aerosol generated from an ultrasonic scaler without any coolant water used in vitro, there was still a substantial number of aerosol and splatter formed from small amounts of liquid placed at the operating site to simulate blood and saliva.…”

Particulate matter (PM2.5) as a potential SARS-CoV-2 carrier

“…No correlation was found betweenvirus concentration and particulate matter as a function ofparticles diameter. Nevertheless, positive correlations betweenPM 2.5 and other respiratory viruses such as thein uenza virus have been reported 11 , emphasizing thepossibility of particulate matter as a transport carrier forSARS-CoV-2. PM 2.5 is ne solid aerosols with a particle diameterof ≤ 2.5 μm that is suspended in ambient air.…”