France has experienced an episode of pollution in recent days. These fine particles have harmful consequences on our health in the long term, but also in the short term.
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While almost all of France has been affected by an episode of fine particle pollution for a few days, this peak favors viral epidemics, such as Covid, according to Tony Renucci, director of the Respire association. On franceinfo, he recalled the danger of these peaks: “There was a big pollution peak at the end of November at the beginning of December, we saw nothing. There was no measure taken and behind it, there was a peak of flu, Covid and bronchiolitis.”
respiratory tract irritation
The Respire association is right, there is a link between these diseases and fine particle pollution. With the good weather and the absence of wind, the particles remain suspended in the air longer, so we breathe them in more and they irritate our respiratory system. And it is this irritation that makes us more fragile. Clearly, it is easier to fall ill immediately after an episode of pollution and this is valid for the main respiratory viruses, such as the flu, Covid or bronchiolitis.
To reach this conclusion, the association relies on a CNRS study published last year and which was devoted to pollution and Covid. This study, conducted by Jean-Baptiste Renard, shows that the most polluted places are also those which have experienced the most cases of Covid or the highest mortality during the pandemic. The research was carried out over two years, from 2020 to 2022, in about thirty cities in Europe: capitals, medium-sized cities and cities known for their poor air quality such as Milan which is in Lombardy, the region Europe where air pollution has been the worst in recent years. And it is by comparing the data from all these cities that the researcher concludes that pollution is an aggravating factor for Covid infection.
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