News > New research: Exposure to wildfire smoke linked to higher Covid-19 risk

New research: Exposure to wildfire smoke linked to higher Covid-19 risk

17/07/2021 04:39 PM | Click to read full article

Wildfire smoke may greatly increase susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2, according to new research from the US institutions Center for Genomic Medicine at the Desert Research Institute(DRI), Washoe County Health District(WCHD), and Renown Health.

The research team examined whether smoke from 2020 wildfires in the western US was associated with an increase in SARS-CoV-2 infections in Reno, Nevada. According to their results, PM2.5 from wildfire smoke was responsible for a 17.7% increase in the number of Covid-19 cases.

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