The particulate matter in the smoke from forest fires may increase the infection rate of the coronavirus in affected areas, a new study by environmental scientists claims, the Associated Press reports.
The paper, by Desert Research Institute Assistant Research Scientist Daniel Kiser and four co-authors published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, found that coronavirus infection rates jumped in Washoe County, Nevada when smoke from wildfires in western states wafted into the region.
For every 10 micrograms per cubic meter of small particulate matter known as PM2.5 in the air, the positivity rate increased about 6.3% two to six days later, the study found.
While the study did not do a strict analysis of other factors, such as college students coming back to local colleges or the increases due to the second wave of the pandemic in the United States.
“That temporary association in the midst of a large uptick in cases overall is what convinced us that something’s going on,” Kiser told the Associated Press.
“Our findings also bolster arguments that PM2.5 from other sources such as vehicle traffic or industry, increases susceptibility to” the coronavirus, the report says, linking the spread of the virus to physical manifestations of climate change.