SARS-CoV-2 test positivity rate in Reno, Nevada: association with PM2.5 during the 2020 wildfire smoke events in the western United States.
J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol
; 31(5): 797-803, 2021 09.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1309430
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Air pollution has been linked to increased susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2. Thus, it has been suggested that wildfire smoke events may exacerbate the COVID-19 pandemic.OBJECTIVES:
Our goal was to examine whether wildfire smoke from the 2020 wildfires in the western United States was associated with an increased rate of SARS-CoV-2 infections in Reno, Nevada.METHODS:
We conducted a time-series analysis using generalized additive models to examine the relationship between the SARS-CoV-2 test positivity rate at a large regional hospital in Reno and ambient PM2.5 from 15 May to 20 Oct 2020.RESULTS:
We found that a 10 µg/m3 increase in the 7-day average PM2.5 concentration was associated with a 6.3% relative increase in the SARS-CoV-2 test positivity rate, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 2.5 to 10.3%. This corresponded to an estimated 17.7% (CI 14.4-20.1%) increase in the number of cases during the time period most affected by wildfire smoke, from 16 Aug to 10 Oct.SIGNIFICANCE:
Wildfire smoke may have greatly increased the number of COVID-19 cases in Reno. Thus, our results substantiate the role of air pollution in exacerbating the pandemic and can help guide the development of public preparedness policies in areas affected by wildfire smoke, as wildfires are likely to coincide with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Wildfires
/
Air Pollutants
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol
Journal subject:
Epidemiology
/
Environmental Health
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S41370-021-00366-w
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