The decline in sulfur dioxide pollution has actually been linked to an increase in Legionnaires illness by enabling longer survival of Legionella in airborne beads, calling for increased illness prevention efforts.Research recommends that a reduction in air pollution may be adding to a boost in an extreme bacterial infection: Legionnaires disease. This breathing condition, which has a death rate of 10– 25%, is triggered by breathing in Legionella bacteria. The bacteria live in water and break outs have been connected to water sources such as cooling towers, which cool indoor spaces by dissipating heat into the atmosphere in the type of water beads and vapor.Other sources consist of improperly preserved public water fountains, hot tubs, ice makers, home humidifiers, and showers. An international rise in Legionnaires disease since the year 2000 has actually puzzled specialists. In the United States, reported cases of Legionnaires disease increased from 1,100 cases in 2000 to almost 10,000 cases in 2018. Fangqun Yu, Arshad Arjunan Nair, and coworkers link the boost to a decrease in sulfur dioxide (SO2) air pollution.Airborne water beads bring Legionella bacteria uptake SO2 from the ambient air, which can make the water droplet acidic and inhospitable for the bacteria when SO2 levels are high.As SO2 contamination decreased nationally, the bacteria lived longer in airborne beads, increasing the possibilities that practical bacteria could wind up in an individuals lungs. According to the authors, reducing SO2 contamination has many reputable health benefits and ought to not be discouraged, however public health officials and clinicians must be mindful of the possibly increased danger for Legionnaires disease.Reference: “Mysteriously rapid rise in Legionnaires disease incidence associates with declining atmospheric sulfur dioxide” by Fangqun Yu, Arshad A Nair, Ursula Lauper, Gan Luo, Jason Herb, Matthew Morse, Braden Savage, Martin Zartarian, Meng Wang and Shao Lin, 12 March 2024, PNAS Nexus.DOI: 10.1093/ pnasnexus/pgae085.
