Study Links PM2.5 wIth Incidence, Mortality Rates Of SARS-CoV-2 Virus

New Delhi: While the rapid spread of Covid-19 can be attributed mainly to the high transmissibility of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, a new study has linked the high incidence and mortality rates with environ-mental factors, particularly with PM2.5. Researchers from the National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan proposed the theory that PM2.5 influenced the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and the subsequent severity of the dis-ease.

Many previous studies have demonstrated a correlation between the morbidity of Covid-19 and air pollution levels. The studies hinted that PM2.5 may act as an environmental carrier facilitating the transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

The novel research, published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, in mice, found that PM2.5 instillation induced the protein abundance of ACE2 -- the receptor for SARS-CoV-2 -- and then increased SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus infection in vitro and in vivo.