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(J Juchtzer)
Exposure to wildfire smoke and other environmental hazards is known to pose a significant health risk to fire personnel. Scientists now warn that wildfire smoke can carry microbes like bacteria and fungi that cause infectious diseases. The team from the University of Idaho and University of California (UC), Davis, explained that while the microbial concentration in smoke is higher near the fire source, these microbes may be active agents spreading infection.
Smoke from the growing number of annual wildfires across the western US and Australia has led to lengthy periods of unhealthy and hazardous air quality for millions of people living in these regions. It is well-documented that exposure to wildfire smoke can damage the heart and lungs. Respiratory allergic and inflammatory diseases, including asthma and bronchitis, are also worsened by exposure to smoke. But in the perspective, published in Science, researchers have called the attention of the scientific community to the little-known and poorly understood threat potentially lurking in the plumes: infectious microbes. They argue that while the pulmonary and cardiovascular consequences of smoke exposure are well known and recognized, the potential for wildfire smoke to be a source of infection has been overlooked and remains unaddressed in public health and wildfire science.