Wildland Firefighter Exposure to Smoke and COVID-19: A New Risk on the Fire Line

Details

• Personal Author:
  Balmes JR ; Butler, Corey R. ; Clark KA ; Domitrovich JW ; Hardt DJ ; Lahm PW ; Navarro KM ; Reid CE
• Description:
  Throughout the United States, wildland firefighters respond to wildfires, performing arduous work in remote locations. Wildfire incidents can be an ideal environment for the transmission of infectious diseases, particularly for wildland firefighters who congregate in work and living settings. In this review, we examine how exposure to wildfire smoke can contribute to an increased likelihood of SARS-CoV-2 infection and severity of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Human exposure to particulate matter (PM), a component of wildfire smoke, has been associated with oxidative stress and inflammatory responses; increasing the likelihood for adverse respiratory symptomology and pathology. In multiple epidemiological studies, wildfire smoke exposure has been associated with acute lower respiratory infections, such as bronchitis and pneumonia. Co-occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and wildfire smoke inhalation may present an increased risk for COVID-19 illness in wildland firefighters due to PM based transport of SARS CoV-2 virus and up-regulation of angiotensin-converting enzyme II (ACE-2) (i.e. ACE-2 functions as a trans-membrane receptor, allowing the SARS-CoV-2 virus to gain entry into the epithelial cell). Wildfire smoke exposure may also increase risk for more severe COVID-19 illness such as cytokine release syndrome, hypotension, and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Current infection control measures, including social distancing, wearing cloth masks, frequent cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces, frequent hand washing, and daily screening for COVID-19 symptoms are very important measures to reduce infections and severe health outcomes. Exposure to wildfire smoke may introduce additive or even multiplicative risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection and severity of disease in wildland firefighters. Thus, additional mitigative measures may be needed to prevent the co-occurrence of wildfire smoke exposure and SARS-CoV-2 infection. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Communicable Diseases Environment Environmental Exposure Enzymes Firefighters Fires Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Viral Diseases Wildfires Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Airborne Particulates Author Keywords: Wildfires Coronavirus COVID-19 Cytokines Disease Control Disease Transmission Environmental Exposure Environmental Factors Enzyme Activity Fire Fighters Fire Fighting Humans Infection Control Infectious Diseases Occupational Exposure Particulate Matter Particulates Protective Measures Respiratory Diseases Respiratory Infections Respiratory System Disorders Risk Factors SARS-CoV-2 Smoke Inhalation Viral Diseases Viral Infections Work Environment

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• ISSN:
  0048-9697
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Colorado ; District of Columbia ; Montana ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 8 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Washington ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering ; RHD - Respiratory Health Division ; WSD - Western States Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  760
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20061808
• Citation:
  Sci Total Environ 2021 Mar; 760:144296
• Contact Point Address:
  Kathleen M. Navarro, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Division of Field Studies and Engineering, 1090 Tusculum Ave MS 14, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
• Email:
  knavarro@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• NORA Priority Area:
  Public Safety
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Science of the Total Environment
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0a6b1ce2989010f6b60f3a34407329d80c896563d2a0b2069c7c877d5ae55ae7fffe55f7dd920046a15bbe6fc9c899523627c5f7d36701a46ba983cba2419b84
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/225186/cdc_225186_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.04 MB ]