Smoke from the growing number of annual wildfires across the western United States and Australia has led to prolonged periods of unhealthy and dangerous air quality for the millions of people living in the regions. sin. In theory, Leda Kobziar and George Thompson III highlight a lesser – known and less well – understood threat that may be declining in the plumes – infectious microbes. According to Kobziar and Thompson, microbes living in wild smoke – bacteria and fungi known to affect human health – are aerosolized from burning materials such as soils, detritus and wild woods and transported in smoke plugs. However, while the lung and cardiovascular effects of exposure to smoke are well known, the potential for wild smoke to be an infectious source has been neglected and remains unnoticed in public health and wild science. To date, little research has been conducted to determine whether smoke-borne microbial behavior poses a health risk, in addition to the known risk of inhalation, that despite strong evidence showing higher rates of certain fungal diseases in areas with higher rates. of wild mist. Kobziar and Thompson argue that there is great value in the fact that the microbial content of wildfires can affect people who are exposed to smoke, especially from large fires and over long periods of time. Therefore, atmospheric and public health sciences need to broaden the focus to include the potential impact of microbial cargo smoke on human populations – a goal that is particularly relevant where foggy skies are more likely to become a seasonal norm than a rare occurrence, the authors wrote.
###
Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! they are not responsible for the accuracy of press releases posted to EurekAlert! by sending institutions or for using any information through the EurekAlert system.