Higher airborne pollen concentrations correlated with increased SARS-CoV-2 infection rates, as evidenced from 31 countries across the globe
Makaleler > Tam Makale · 2021
Yazarlar: Ulaş UĞUZ, Athanasios Damialis, Stefanie Gilles, Mikhail Sofiev, Viktoria Sofieva, Franziska Kolek, Daniela Bayr, Maria P. Plaza, Vivien Leier-Wirtz, Sigrid Kaschuba, Lewis H. Ziska, Leonard Bielory, László Makra, Maria del Mar Trigo, Claudia Traidl-Hoffmann, Gilles Oliver, Nhân Pham-Thi, Michel Thibaudon, Arturo H. Arino, Jordina Belmonte, Patricia Cervigon Morales, Concepción De Linares, Delia Fernández, Santiago Fernández-Rodriguez, Antonia Gabaldón Arguisuelas, Carmen Galán, Mónica González-Alonso, Beatriz Lara, José María Moreno Grau, José Oteros, Rosa Pérez-Badia, Anabel Pérez-De-Zabalza, Antonio Picornell, Marta Recio, Estrella Robles, Alberto Rodríguez-Fernández, F. Javier Rodríguez-Rajo, Jesús Rojo, Luis Ruiz Valenzuela, Karl Christian Bergmann, Barbora Werchan, Matthias Werchan, Jeroen T.M. Buters, Maximilian Bastl, Susanne Dunker, Thomas Hornick, Nestor González Roldán, Stefan Gilge, Bernard Clot, Stanley Finemann, Linda Ford, Robert Anthony Gomez, Sanjay Kamboj, Wayne Wilhelm, Paul J. Beggs, Pamela Burton, Janet M. Davies, Simon Graeme Haberle, Constance Helen Katelaris, Ben Keaney, Andelija Milic, Victoria Miller, Shanice van Haeften, Maira Bonini, Anna Bordin, Valentina Ceriotti, Fabiana Cristofolini, Antonella Cristofori, Elena Gottardini, Guido Marcer, Paolo Marraccini, Paolo Mascagni, Antonio Meriggi, Loretta Pace, Alberto Pini, Maria Cristina Tacca, Nicolas Bruffaerts, Lucie Hoebeke, Beverley Adams-Groom, Catherine H. Pashley, Jack Satchwell, Carsten Skjøth, Fiona A. Symon, Celia M. Antunes, Elsa Caeiro, Irene Gomes Câmara Camacho, Ana R. Costa, Ricardo João Ratola Capela Deus, Manuel Branco Ferreira, Joao Almeida Lopes Fonseca, Ana Galveias, Helena Ribeiro, Beatriz Tavares, Łukasz Grewling, Agnieszka Grinn-Gofroń, Dariusz Jurkiewicz, Ewa Kalinowska, Agnieszka Lipiec, Dorota Myszkowska, Krystyna Piotrowska-Weryszko, Malgorzata Puc
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, SCI Expanded İndekslerine Giren Dergi, Uluslararası, Scopus, 2021, cilt 118
Özet
Pollen exposure weakens the immunity against certain seasonal respiratory viruses by diminishing the antiviral interferon response. Here we investigate whether the same applies to the pandemic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is sensitive to antiviral interferons, if infection waves coincide with high airborne pollen concentrations. Our original hypothesis was that more airborne pollen would lead to increases in infection rates. To examine this, we performed a cross-sectional and longitudinal data analysis on SARS-CoV-2 infection, airborne pollen, and meteorological factors. Our dataset is the most comprehensive, largest possible worldwide from 130 stations, across 31 countries and five continents. To explicitly investigate the effects of social contact, we additionally considered population density of each study area, as well as lockdown effects, in all possible combinations: without any lockdown, with mixed lockdown−no lockdown regime, and under complete lockdown. We found that airborne pollen, sometimes in synergy with humidity and temperature, explained, on average, 44% of the infection rate variability. Infection rates increased after higher pollen concentrations most frequently during the four previous days. Without lockdown, an increase of pollen abundance by 100 pollen/m3 resulted in a 4% average increase of infection rates. Lockdown halved infection rates under similar pollen concentrations. As there can be no preventive measures against airborne pollen exposure, we suggest wide dissemination of pollen−virus coexposure dire effect information to encourage high-risk individuals to wear particle filter masks during high springtime pollen concentrations.