Pollution combined with Covid can lead to high mortality: director of AIIMS.
New Delhi:
Increased air pollution combined with coronavirus infection and pulmonary complications can eventually lead to serious consequences, and therefore higher mortality, Dr Randeep Guleria, director of the Institute of Medical Sciences of the India (AIIMS).
Speaking to ANI, Dr Guleria said escalating particulate pollution during winter may not always be fatal but can have serious consequences, meaning patients may need a intensive care assistance or ventilator, resulting in higher mortality.
Experts have widely spotted many examples that have identified the number of all respiratory viruses growing during the winter months and observed that SARS-CoV-2 is primarily a respiratory virus.
“Swine flu also shows a peak during the winter months and it is likely that COVID-19 will do the same as well. When it comes to air pollution, there is data that shows that air pollution can also lead to a higher prevalence of COVID-19. based on the study carried out in recent months in Italy and China, ”said Dr Guleria.
The study in Italy found a positive correlation between the concentration of PM 2.5 and higher deaths from COVID-19.
“If people inhale pollutants into the airways, that in itself causes inflammation of the airways and worsening of the underlying respiratory conditions. In such a situation, if people contract a Covid infection, they may have a more serious infection which could lead to higher mortality due to this combination, ”he says.
While explaining the correlation between increasing cases, winter and air pollution, Dr Guleria said: “This is particularly related to two things. First, due to the drop in temperature, viruses can survive longer in the environment, unlike in summer. Second, due to winter, people tend to stay indoors, in overcrowded, poorly ventilated rooms (to conserve heat), which maximizes the spread of the virus from person to person. “
With the air quality index (AQI) oscillating between the category of “ poor ” and “ very poor ”, it has already been noticed that the cases of coronavirus have started to increase in Delhi.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in its last bulletin (16 hours) on AQI, showed that with 296 and 215 index values in Delhi and Gurugram, air quality is in the category poor while in Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Noida it is in a very poor category.
(This story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
