Many Belgian experts are convinced that the return of good weather and spring will make it possible to control the coronavirus epidemic in our lands. In fact, the good weather makes it easier to ventilate the rooms and makes it possible to do maximum activities outside rather than in confined spaces, which limits the risk of the spread of Covid-19.
However, whoever says the return of spring, says the return of pollen. The latter could have a negative effect on virus transmission. In fact, according to a study conducted by German scientists and taken by our colleagues from VRT, a high concentration of pollen in the air will increase the risk of contracting Covid-19.
To reach these conclusions, the researchers gathered data from 130 pollen monitoring stations in 31 countries around the world, on five different continents. In the regions studied, they also tracked the development of the coronavirus epidemic and the number of new daily infections. In each of the regions analyzed, the number of infections varies systematically depending on the amount of pollen present in the air.
The researchers explained that “the rates of infection with Covid-19 increased after the increase in pollen concentrations in the previous days.” Specifically, an increase of 100 pollen grains per cubic meter of air resulted in a 4% increase in the incidence rate.
Reducing antiviral materials
According to the researchers, this increase can be explained by the fact that exposure to pollen reduces the production of antiviral substances. In other words, the more pollen grains are in the air, the less the organism will produce these “antiviruses”, and hence the less protection we have from the various viruses that spread in the air.
In order to avoid the risk of infection, scientists recommend that people at risk wear a mouth mask that provides additional protection, such as an FFP2 mask, during high pollen concentration bouts, or even throughout the season.
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