Mirko Busto

Just a while ago, the Italian Society of Environmental Medicine (SIMA) released a preprint version of its paper confirming the presence of coronavirus RNA in particle pollution samples collected in industrial areas of Northern Italy. These preliminary results sparked a great debate… Not on the possible implications in case of their confirmation, but on how the press announced the results. Following SIMA’s publication, many scientific journalists, bloggers, and professional debunkers raced to highlight the lack of scientific objectivity in defining “official” SIMA’s preliminary results. The paper is indeed a preprint, meaning it has not yet completed the peer review process …

Last March, the Italian Society of Environmental Medicine (SIMA) published a position paper on the possible relationship between atmospheric particulate matter and the dramatic effects of the coronavirus COVID-19. Several publications and reports followed increasingly supporting this hypothesis. Today, a new preprint publication by SIMA adds an important piece to the puzzle pointing out particulate pollution as a cofactor in the extremely high Italian COVID-19 death rate. Particulate pollution (PM2.5 in particular) would act as a facilitator for this epidemic in two ways: a direct effect, damaging health and impairing the immune system, and an indirect one, acting as a carrier of …

A research team led by San Raffaele’s researcher Dr Antonio Frontera promotes the hypothesis of a correlation between COVID-19 and air pollution in a communication to the journal of infections. Scientific literature has warned us for years of the strong link between viral respiratory diseases and air pollution. Particulate matter (PM2.5 or PM10), sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and ozone affect the respiratory tract and aggravate susceptibility and severity of infections from respiratory viruses. Fine particles, such as PM2.5, tend to have a higher persistence in air and their small size increases the chances of them penetrating deep into …

Particulate pollution. The first thing that pops into mind is traffic. But are we sure that’s always the main responsible? In this first, and hopefully last, season of COVID-19 crisis, the time has come to turn our attention to intensive livestock and to the practice of zootechnical slurry spraying. More and more scientific evidence are confirming particulate pollution is an aggravating factor for COVID-19 contagion and death count. SIMA’s analysis first supported a correlation between the high level of pollution in the Po Valley and the extremely high COVID-19 death rate. Siena University paper backed up the same conclusions concluding …

Exposure to fine particulate pollution (PM2.5) could dramatically increase the mortality of COVID-19. A Harvard University study adds new elements to SIMA’s analysis. Researchers from Harvard T.H. Biostatistics Department Chan School of Public Health investigated the hypothesis that the long-term effects of fine dust pollution (PM 2.5) could drastically increase the risk of death from COVID-19. The assumption of the study is the significant overlap between the causes of death of COVID-19 patients and those of diseases related to long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5). To test the hypothesis that particulates may exacerbate the severity of COVID-19 infection symptoms …

In my previous post, I already had a hunch correlating air pollution to the quantity of coronavirus infected people in a zone. A position paper from ‘The Italian Society of Environmental Medicine’ (SIMA) just confirmed what I feared. Particulate pollution can speed up the spreading of Coronavirus.The particles (PM10 and PM2.5) are known as carriers because they haul chemicals but also viruses. Consequently, they can progress for a longer distance. Furthermore, the composition of the particle, a mix between solid and liquid, protect the virus and enable its action. To back up this affirmation, the study quotes papers about the …