The Potential role of Particulate Matter in the Spreading of COVID-19 in Northern Italy: First Evidence-based Research Hypotheses

Leonardo Setti; Fabrizio Passarini; Gianluigi De Gennaro; Pierluigi Barbieri; Maria Grazia Perrone; Andrea Piazzalunga; Massimo Borelli; Jolanda Palmisani; Alessia Di Gilio; PRISCO PISCITELLI; Alessandro Miani

At the same time, a number of studies have shown that airborne transmission route could spread viruses even further the close contact with infected people [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] . Paules et al. (2020) highlighted that -besides close distance contacts -airborne transmission of SARS-CoV can also occur [5] . It has also been reported how for some pathogens the airborne transport can reach long distances [6] [7] [8] . Reche et al. (2018) described the aerosolization of soil-dust and organic aggregates in sea spray that facilitates the long-range transport of bacteria, and likely of viruses free in the atmosphere. In particular, virus deposition rates were positively correlated with organic aerosol <0.7 µm, implying that viruses could have longer persistence times in the atmosphere and, consequently, will be dispersed further [9] . Moreover Qin et al. (2020) analyzed the microbiome of the airborne particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM 10 ) in Beijing over a period of 6 months in 2012 and 2013, putting in evidence a variability of the composition that depended on the months [10] . Temporal distribution of the relative abundance of the microbiome on the particulate matter (PM) showed the highest presence of viruses in January and February, just in coincidence with most severe PM pollution. Chen. et al (2017) demonstrated the relationship between short-term exposure PM 2.5 concentration and measles incidence in 21 cities in China [11] . Their meta-analyses showed that the nationwide measles incidence was significantly associated with an increase of 10 µg/m 3 in PM 2.5 levels.