Air pollution makes you more vulnerable to swine flu

By Kapil Kajal

Amid the coronavirus scare, experts now say that air pollution makes one more prone to contracting the H1N1 swine flu. Data show that Bengaluru accounted for half of the cases in Karnataka. In 2020, Bengaluru has seen 101 cases and one death from swine flu till the end of February.

According to a study by Bangalore University, inhalation of bacterial aerosol can cause a number of infectious disease and hypersensitivity in the lungs. The study added that in summers, people were at increased risk of contracting infectious diseases.

Nandini N, the head of the Department of Environmental Sciences at Bangalore University, stated that since the size of viruses is less than 2.5 microns (1 metre=10 lakh microns), it can be easily carried by air, thus affecting a large number of people.

H1N1 swine flu is a respiratory infection caused by the H1N1 influenza virus. It is majorly spread by coughs or sneezes, handshakes or hugs, kissing or sharing drinks or touching a contaminated surface blanket or doorknob. However, air pollution boosts the virus and bacteria in the air, and after affecting our immune system, it gives rise to a number of respiratory diseases, common cold and swine flu.

Activist Sandeep Anirudhan stated that owing to garbage burning and improper solid waste management, there are a lot of aerosols, bacterial aerosols, allergens, pathogens in the air and they can travel for long.

He mentioned that once these pollutants are inhaled, it causes irritation in the respiratory organs, this is how air pollution causes respiratory diseases. According to a study by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), residents of a polluted city like Bengaluru showed all abnormal parameters in comparison to a cleaner city.

One of the authors of the study Dr H Paramesh told 101Reporters that air pollution directly impacts the upper and lower respiratory tract which can make people vulnerable to catch respiratory and infectious diseases like chronic cough, pneumonia, flu, viral infections including H1N1 influenza and in Bengaluru, air pollution is giving rise to such diseases.

An area with high levels of air pollution has a greater risk of getting sick with the flu because airborne pollution particles provide “condensation nuclei” to which virus droplets attach, according to a report by a Switzerland-based company. These particles, with virus particles attached, remain airborne longer, allowing the virus to travel much farther than the distance covered when you sneeze, it explained.

The cells respond to both pollutants and viruses by releasing chemicals called cytokines that are proteins and serve as messengers for communications between the body’s cells and the chemicals that are released by the body’s immune system, causing inflammation and the release of fluids, the report added.

Zibi Jamal, a member of citizens’ group Whitefield Rising, stated that when the lung function is compromised, our immunity is impacted and that is how the air pollution in Bengaluru is making it conducive to airborne diseases like H1N1.

A group of Hong Kong-based scientists measured out the daily concentrations of pollutants and calculated the relative risks of respiratory and cardiovascular disease admissions.

Significant associations were found between hospital admissions for all respiratory diseases, all cardiovascular diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and the admissions for asthma, pneumonia, and influenza were significantly associated with nitrogen dioxide, ozone and particulate matter, the report added.

Environmentalist Akshay Heblikar stated that it’s the inability of the natural air currents getting dispersed due to higher pressure and concentration of pollutants in the air which makes airborne diseases widespread.

To tackle the rising pollution, Dr G Shashidhara, a pulmonologist with his own practice, stated that it can only be managed by setting guidelines and quality education. Managing population growth, increasing greenery and proper solid waste management would also solve this problem, he highlighted.

(Author is Bengaluru - based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.)