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Air Pollution and COVID-19: Exploring the Link Between Pandemic Spread and Pollutants
Mohammed Kadhom, PhD Department of Environmental Sciences, College of Energy and Environment, Al-Karkh University of Science Noor Albayati, MS Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Baghdad Emad Yousif, PhD Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Al-Nahrain University counts were estimated at a total of 280 mil- lion and 5.4 million, respectively. COVID-19 presents and behaves differ- ently from person-to-person. In China, the infection rate for people <19 years was 2.4% of the total cases, although these infections rarely caused death. Older people had the highest infection and death rates, which were attributed to preexisting chronic diseases (Alsayed et al., 2020). We investigated cases reported in Baghdad, Iraq, at the Alshifaa Center, a specialized fa- cility for COVID-19 treatment. Statistical in- formation showed that infection and fatality rates were higher in male patients than female patients, a finding attributed to hormonal dif- ferences. The sex hormone testosterone was identified as one cause of the increase in cases among male patients, whereas the sex hor- mone estrogen was found to hinder viral ac- tivity in female patients. Similar to previous findings, research showed that infection rates were higher in older adults than in younger people; the old- er an individual, the greater the risk of infec- tion and death. This difference was attributed to a younger person’s more robust immune system; when a person is >60 years, the im- mune system weakens (Raheem, Kadhom, Albayati, et al., 2021; Raheem, Kadhom, Al- hashimie, et al., 2021). As a matter of public health, it became mandatory to be concerned about the protec- tion of the individual and the health of others by following basic protocols of protection. This protection mainly included wearing face masks, washing hands or using hand sani- tizer, keeping social distance, staying home, and eating healthy food (Alsayed et al., 2020; Hadi, Kadhom, Yousif, et al., 2020).
Abstract COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020, and the SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to be a global concern with new variants. Our research focused on the relationship between COVID-19 and air pollution, and we included findings from recently published research. In summary, there is a direct relationship between air pollution and COVID-19 infection and fatality rates. This relationship was evident after many parts of the world declared lockdowns. Research to understand the relationship between infection rates and air pollutants identified indirect factors that contributed to the spread of infection. In this article, we explore studies on air pollutants, the use of face masks, weather conditions, short- and long-term exposure, infection and mortality, and modeling of the pandemic. Keywords: COVID-19, air pollution, particulate matter, pandemic, face masks
Introduction Coronaviruses (CoV) belong to the single- stranded RNA virus family in the Nido- virales order. The order includes the Coro- naviridae family, of which the subfamily Coronavirinae contains four groups: alpha, beta, gamma, and delta. In recent decades, three types of betacoronaviruses have been identified. First, in 2002, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) spread in China, which infected approximately 8,000 people and resulted in 774 deaths. A decade later, another type of coronavirus, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV), appeared in Saudi Arabia. The infection rate was lower, but the disease proved more fatal than SARS, with infection and fatality cases at 2,494 and 858, respectively (Hadi, Kad- hom, Hairunisa, et al., 2020). In Novem- ber 2019, a new coronavirus emerged and
quickly spread worldwide. This virus was called SARS-CoV-2 (which causes the dis- ease COVID-19). Much effort was put into treating COV- ID-19 by specifying appropriate medications, authorizing protocols of treatment, and de- veloping vaccines (Ibrahim et al., 2021). At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the protocols were not clear because the vi- rus was novel. Over time, different treatment methods were used, including pharmaceuti- cal and natural plant methods, with the pri- mary goal of treating patients’ symptoms and improving their immunity (Al-Doori et al., 2021). Nevertheless, the virus is still circulat- ing worldwide due to its ability to generate new forms (i.e., mutate into new variants), which makes control and eradication of the virus difficult (Al-Dahhan et al., 2020). By the end of 2021, cases of infection and death
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Volume 87 • Number 7
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