Beyond virology: environmental constraints of the first wave of COVID-19 cases in Italy
Open Access
- 1 June 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Environmental Science and Pollution Research
- Vol. 28 (24), 31996-32004
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-12878-x
Abstract
Global warming and air pollution affect the transmission pathway and the survival of viruses, altering the human immune system as well. The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically highlights the key roles of climate and air chemistry in viral epidemics. The elongated form of the Italian peninsula and the two major islands (the largest in Europe) is a perfect case study to assess some of these key roles, as the fate of the virus is mirroring the industrialization in the continental part of our country. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5), geography, and climate explain what is happening in Italy and support cleaner air actions to address efficiently other outbreaks. Besides the environmental factors, future works should also address the genetic difference among individuals to explain the spatial variability of the human response to viral infections.Funding Information
- Università di Catania (PIACERI L.2, PIACERI L.3)
This publication has 21 references indexed in Scilit:
- A doubt of multiple introduction of SARS‐CoV‐2 in Italy: A preliminary overviewJournal of Medical Virology, 2020
- The first two cases of 2019‐nCoV in Italy: Where they come from?Journal of Medical Virology, 2020
- Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, ChinaThe Lancet, 2020
- Climate change will drive novel cross-species viral transmissionPublished by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory ,2020
- Summary for policymakers of the global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem ServicesPopulation and Development Review, 2019
- Soil biodiversity and human healthNature, 2015
- 10 Years LaterNetworks of Invasion: A Synthesis of Concepts, 2015
- Primary biological aerosol particles in the atmosphere: a reviewTellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology, 2012
- Concentrations and size distributions of airborne influenza A viruses measured indoors at a health centre, a day-care centre and on aeroplanesJournal of The Royal Society Interface, 2011
- Fine Particulate Air Pollution and Hospital Admission for Cardiovascular and Respiratory DiseasesJAMA, 2006