Increased pollen levels may increase the risk of infection with the new coronavirus
Spring is a warm and pleasant season, but it is also a difficult season for people with hay fever who have an allergic reaction to pollen, who have a runny nose and sneezing. A new study, 'Increased pollen levels in the air may increase the risk of infection with the new coronavirus,' was published in the
Higher airborne pollen concentrations correlated with increased SARS-CoV-2 infection rates, as evidenced from 31 countries across the globe | PNAS
https://www.pnas.org/content/118/12/e2019034118
Pollen can raise your risk of getting COVID-19, whether you have allergies or not
https://theconversation.com/pollen-can-raise-your-risk-of-getting-covid-19-whether-you-have-allergies-or-not-156754
It is widely known that the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) is more likely to become more severe in older people, but previous studies have shown that obesity , air pollution , DNA inherited from Neanderthals , schizophrenia, etc. It turns out that a variety of risk factors exist.
The research team of Lewis Ziska et al is a Columbia University of vegetable physicist is, in 2019, 'exposure to pollen can weaken immunity against the virus of the respiratory system' with the research results based on that it has been announced, We thought that the amount of pollen in the air could be a risk factor for COVID-19. Pollen interferes with the 'protein that shows an antiviral reaction' that exists in the cells of the respiratory tract, making it easier to infect respiratory viruses such as influenza virus.
by Yamanaka Tamaki
The research team obtained data collected by 248 pollen monitoring sites in Europe, Africa, Asia, North America, South America, Oceania, etc., and data on the number of people infected with the new coronavirus in that area. By analyzing these data, we investigated how the amount of pollen in the air is related to the number of people infected with the new coronavirus during the period from March to April 2020.
As a result of the analysis, it was found that the infection rate of the new coronavirus also increased 4 days after the amount of pollen increased, and the fluctuation of the case rate of COVID-19 observed in each country was 44% on average for pollen. It was related to exposure, Ziska said. If the city blockade was not carried out, it seems that the infection rate also increased by 4% when 100 pollen grains per cubic meter increased, and this value was halved when the city blockade was carried out.
In addition, exposure to pollen affects not only people with hay fever but also people who do not have an allergic reaction to pollen, and in general, pollen that does not cause allergies also has an increased infection rate of the new corona virus. It seems that it was related.
In recent years, it has become a long pollen season by the effects of global warming, in addition to time to fly pollen about 20 days as compared to 1990 is longer, of that amount itself also increased the pollen fly research There are also results. From the results of this study, Ziska said, 'Keep indoors as much as possible on pollen-rich days and limit exposure to pollen.' When going outdoors, wear a mask and pollen will be respiratory. I advised that it is also important to prevent entry.
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