The bacteria that cause respiratory infections are altered by air pollution in a way that increases their harmful potential and decreases the effectiveness of the antibiotics used to fight them.
This is the conclusion of a study by the University of Leicester (United Kingdom), which has analyzed how pollution affects the bacteria that live in our body, especially those of the respiratory tract: nose, throat and lungs.
Blame it on coal
The research indicates that the main culprits for the phenomenon are the carbon particles that enter the atmosphere when we burn fossil fuels. Therefore, the effect is greater in large cities full of cars and highly polluting heaters.
The work, led by microbiologist Julie Morrissey, has focused on two bacteria – Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae – responsible for most respiratory infections and highly resistant to antibiotics. The scientists found that the carbon particles increase the resistance of these pathogens to drugs, which aggravates ailments such as pneumonia. In addition, charcoal makes it easier for Streptococcus pneumoniae to spread from the nose into the lungs, a decisive step for us to suffer from this potentially fatal disease.
Superbugs by accident
Why does polluted air strengthen these bacteria? According to the authors of the research, the carbon particles change the composition and structure of the biofilms that cover the colonies of pathogens, an excretion of the bacteria that works as a kind of armor that protects them and makes them harder to peel. for antibiotics.
This study has not yet passed the laboratory phase – clinical tests remain – but it gives clues to the importance of air pollution in respiratory diseases. According to the WHO, air pollution kills about seven million people each year, which is equivalent to one eighth of the annual deaths on the planet.
