Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 15, 2025

Measuring Carbon Content in Airway Macrophages Exposed to Carbon-Containing Particulate Matters
Published on: July 12, 2024
The Effect of Pollution on the Spread of COVID-19 in Europe
Myrto Kasioumi1, Thanasis Stengos1
1Department of Economics and Finance, Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1 Canada.
Abstract:
This study investigates empirically how air pollution in earlier periods as measured by three air pollutants, namely N O 2, P M 10, and P M 2.5 may have affected the spread and fatality of COVID-19 in 31 European countries. Using panel data with fixed effects to examine the relationship between previous exposure to air pollution and COVID-19 new cases and COVID-19 deaths, we find that previous air pollution levels have both acted as an important factor in explaining the COVID-19 spread and its high fatality rate. This result may explain the negative impact that these pollutants may have on health and in particular on the respiratory functions that are mainly attacked by the virus.
Supplementary Information:
The online version contains supplementary material available at doi:10.1007/s41885-021-00099-y.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Transmission-based Precautions II: Airborne and Protective Environment
Airborne precautions:
Use airborne precautions when treating patients known or suspected to have diseases that spread through the air—for example, tuberculosis or measles. These organisms are present in smaller droplets expelled by an infected person and...
Types of Toxins
Air pollutants, primarily gases, pose significant threats to respiratory health, leading to conditions like hypoxia, lung cancer, and in extreme cases, death.
Environmental pollutants like...
Causality in Epidemiology
Threats to Biodiversity
Bioremediation
Factors Affecting Pulmonary Ventilation
Alveolar Surface Tension
The alveolar fluid lines the luminal surface of the alveoli and exerts a force called surface tension. This force is caused by the polar water molecules in the liquid being more strongly attracted to each...

