Three airborne heavy metal pollutants — zinc, chromium and vanadium — could create an environment more favorable to the survival of influenza viruses, a study conducted by Taipei Medical University (TMU) found.
A team led by TMU School of Respiratory Therapy professor Chuang Hsiao-chi (莊校奇) found that the three pollutants are correlated to the survival of flu viruses, after they analyzed samples collected in Taipei from Dec. 24, 2019, to Jan. 13 last year.
The team collected airborne particles in the neighborhood of Taipei’s Changxing Street and Keelung Road, and used polymerase chain reaction tests to analyze influenza virus subtypes A, B and H5.
Photo: CNA
The three heavy metal pollutants can attach to fine particulate matters (PM) and protect their structures, allowing them to survive for a longer period, Chuang said.
While the survival of the viruses is affected by other factors, it is found to have highest correlation to the three heavy metal pollutants, he said.
Zinc is usually generated from vehicle emissions, chromium from industrial chimneys and vanadium from petroleum plants, Chuang said.
The longer a virus stays in the air, the more people are likely to be infected, he said.
About 79 percent of PM2.5 — fine particulate matters measuring 2.5 micrometers — breathed in by a person can reach their upper and lower respiratory tracts, while 45 percent can reach their alveolus epitheliums, he said.
Wearing a mask is the best way to protect patients and healthy people from virus transmission, Chuang said.
Air purifiers are also helpful in filtering PM2.5, he added.
Asked how much PM2.5 and heavy metal pollutants can extend the life of flu viruses, Chuang said that more research is needed to answer the question, as he has only observed a significant correlation between virus survival and the three pollutants.
Asked if fine particulate matter and heavy metal pollutants would also contribute to the survival of SARS-CoV-2, Chuang said it is theoretically plausible.
Many studies have confirmed that the COVID-19 pandemic is more severe in areas with heavier air pollution, although it remains uncertain which particles have a greater impact on coronaviruses, he said.
Chuang’s study was published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials in September.
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
SECURITY: To protect the nation’s Internet cables, the navy should use buoys marking waters within 50m of them as a restricted zone, a former navy squadron commander said A Chinese cargo ship repeatedly intruded into Taiwan’s contiguous and sovereign waters for three months before allegedly damaging an undersea Internet cable off Kaohsiung, a Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) investigation revealed. Using publicly available information, the Liberty Times was able to reconstruct the Shunxing-39’s movements near Taiwan since Double Ten National Day last year. Taiwanese officials did not respond to the freighter’s intrusions until Friday last week, when the ship, registered in Cameroon and Tanzania, turned off its automatic identification system shortly before damage was inflicted to a key cable linking Taiwan to the rest of
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
RSS