WARNING TO ASTHMATIC PATIENTS—a rise in PM2.5 concentrations of just 10 microg/m3 from wildfire smoke 8% increase in asthma-related hospital admissions.

PM2.5 surged by >200 mcg/m3 in Portland over just hours on Sept 10. #Wildfires are deadly. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/peteraldhous/west-coast-wildfires-air-quality-health-crisis

2) Worse, wildfire pollution may exacerbate #COVID19 and flu. How? In Montana, higher daily PM2.5 concentrations during the summer wildfire season have been linked to higher rates of influenza in the following flu season....

3) “It makes sense that wildfire smoke would make people more vulnerable to infection by respiratory viruses because PM2.5 particles damage cells called alveolar macrophages, which are an important line of immune defense in air sacs deep in the lungs...

4) “If the alveolar macrophages are overloaded with toxic particles, whether those particles are from tobacco smoke, marijuana smoke, vaping, or wildfire smoke, they don’t function as well”