When bushfires and COVID collide

It’s summer in a pandemic. So as Australia opens its borders and COVID case numbers rise, we’ll likely see the interplay of COVID and bushfires.

Our bodies react to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, and bushfires in similar ways.

Both affect the lungs. Both can have serious health consequences in vulnerable populations, such as elderly people. Both can have long-term health consequences.

What we know so far

From a simple health perspective, if you have been seriously ill with COVID your response to bushfire smoke is likely to be more serious, and vice versa.

However, because COVID is still a new disease, the evidence for these effects is still sparse.

So far, the best evidence for the impact of COVID on people affected by smoke is from studies in communities that burn biomass (such as plant material or animal dung) as an energy source. In this scenario, a person is exposed to smoke constantly rather than the intermittent smoke that occurs during bushfire seasons.

Read the full article on UTS Newsroom: When bushfires and COVID collide