(Press-News.org) Highlights:
A new study identified that increased levels of fungal spores in the air were strongly linked to surges in cases of influenza and COVID-19.
Monitoring airborne fungal spores could help predict surges of respiratory virus infections, providing an early warning system to public health systems.
Los Angeles, Calif.—Monitoring fungal spores in the outdoor air can predict surges in flu and COVID-19 infections, especially during the fall, according to a new study. The study is presented at ASM Microbe 2025 in Los Angeles, the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.
“By monitoring the air we breathe, we may be able to better forecast and prepare for seasonal outbreaks of respiratory viral infections,” said presenting study author Félix E. Rivera-Mariani, Ph.D., associate professor of Biochemistry and Special Topics in Biology at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., and founder and principal investigator at the RIPLRT Institute, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The researchers wanted to understand the short-term role of environmental exposures—specifically fungal spores and pollen—in triggering or amplifying the incidence of respiratory viral infections such as COVID-19 and influenza. The ecology of Puerto Rico offers a unique natural laboratory due to its consistent and endemic year-round presence of airborne fungi and pollen. Despite the known links between these exposures and asthma or allergies, their role in viral infection trends hasn’t been thoroughly studied.
In the new study, the researchers examined daily data, from 2022 to 2024, in 2 major health regions in Puerto Rico—San Juan and Caguas. The data included the daily incidence of people diagnosed with COVID-19 and flu, and the concentrations of airborne fungal spores and pollen recorded on the same days. The scientists then implemented statistical and machine learning models to see if high levels of these environmental exposures could predict spikes in flu and COVID-19 cases within the same week or the following week (called lag-effect).
They discovered that airborne concentrations of fungal spores— but not pollen—were strongly linked to increases in flu and COVID-19 cases. When airborne concentrations of fungal spores rose, the scientists often saw a jump in infections within a few days. The models were able to predict flu and COVID-19 surges with high accuracy, particularly in the fall season, in both San Juan and Caguas. Pollen didn’t show the same connection nor prediction.
“The findings from our study suggest that monitoring airborne fungal spore levels could help predict short-term outbreaks (spikes) of flu and COVID-19, giving public health systems an early warning signal,” Rivera-Mariani said. “Our findings also highlight the potential role of environmental factors—not just person-to-person spread—in contributing to the incidence of respiratory viral infections. That could open new doors for targeted public health alerts, especially in areas with high outdoor airborne fungi.”
The study’s investigators say that Puerto Rico was an ideal setting for the study, not only because of its high environmental exposure levels, but also because it has active fungal and pollen monitoring stations in downtown Caguas and in San Juan on the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus. “These findings may help inform environmental risk alerts, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly or those with asthma and allergic rhinitis,” Rivera-Mariani said.
To follow up on the new findings, Rivera-Mariani and colleagues would like to investigate whether these environmental exposures also correlate with severe outcomes like hospitalizations or deaths, and whether similar patterns exist in other regions beyond Puerto Rico. “We also hope to collaborate with local health agencies to explore incorporating fungal surveillance into existing outbreak forecasting systems,” Rivera-Mariani said.
###
The American Society for Microbiology is one of the largest professional societies dedicated to the life sciences and is composed of over 37,000 scientists and health practitioners. ASM's mission is to promote and advance the microbial sciences.
ASM advances the microbial sciences through conferences, publications, certifications, educational opportunities and advocacy efforts. It enhances laboratory capacity around the globe through training and resources. It provides a network for scientists in academia, industry and clinical settings. Additionally, ASM promotes a deeper understanding of the microbial sciences to all audiences.
END
Airborne fungal spores may help predict COVID-19 & flu surges
2025-06-20
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Study shows tissues’ pliability depends on watery fluid between cells
2025-06-20
Water makes up around 60 percent of the human body. More than half of this water sloshes around inside the cells that make up organs and tissues. Much of the remaining water flows in the nooks and crannies between cells, much like seawater between grains of sand.
Now, MIT engineers have found that this “intercellular” fluid plays a major role in how tissues respond when squeezed, pressed, or physically deformed. Their findings could help scientists understand how cells, tissues, and organs ...
Interfacial polymer cross-linking strategy enables ultra-thin polymeric membranes for fast and selective ion transport
2025-06-20
Polymeric membranes are widely used in separation technologies due to their low cost and easily scalable fabrication. However, unlike inorganic nanoporous materials such as metal-organic frameworks and covalent organic frameworks, which feature periodic and ordered channels, polymeric membranes produced through traditional methods—such as phase separation—typically have irregular and disordered pore structures. This structural limitation makes it difficult to accurately separate ions or molecules ...
A leap in canine medicine: Method for reproducible mesenchymal stem cells found
2025-06-20
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which can be harvested from fat and bone marrow, have immune-modulating and anti-inflammatory effects that are beneficial for both human and veterinary medicine. However, MSCs have a limited proliferation capacity, with their quality varying depending on the donor’s age and where they were harvested from. For this reason, a method for producing MSCs using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is attracting attention as a means to provide a stable supply of homogeneous MSCs. IPSCs have unlimited proliferation capacity and can be differentiated ...
New nanoparticles offer safer, more effective drug delivery
2025-06-20
Scientists at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) and Nanjing University in China have developed a new drug delivery system that could improve how treatments of cancers and other diseases are delivered. Their study, published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, describes a new type of nanoparticle made by combining a widely used medical polymer with a natural blood protein. These particles can carry much larger amounts of disease-fighting drugs and remain stable much ...
Virtual reality could help stroke survivors regain movement
2025-06-20
A Cochrane review has found that virtual reality (VR), when used in addition to standard therapy, can help stroke survivors regain arm movement. The findings suggests that VR could be a promising tool to boost rehabilitation efforts, particularly by increasing the amount of therapy patients receive.
Published today, this is the fourth update of a Cochrane review first released in 2011, and now includes data from 190 trials involving 7,188 participants – with 119 new studies added since the previous version in 2017. The review assessed a wide range of VR technologies, ...
Placenta and hormone levels in the womb may have been key driver in human evolution, say researchers
2025-06-19
The placenta and the hormones it produces may have played a crucial role in the evolution of the human brain, while also leading to the behavioural traits that have made human societies able to thrive and expand, according to a new hypothesis proposed by researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford.
Dr Alex Tsompanidis, senior researcher at the Autism Research Centre in the University of Cambridge, and the lead author of this new study, said: “Small variations in the prenatal levels of steroid hormones, like testosterone and oestrogen, can predict the rate of social and cognitive learning in infants and even ...
BMJ finds inaccuracies in key studies for AstraZeneca’s blockbuster heart drug ticagrelor
2025-06-19
In a follow up investigation into the multibillion dollar drug ticagrelor, The BMJ has uncovered fresh concerns, this time in key platelet studies used in its FDA approval.
For more than a decade, ticagrelor (Brilinta in the US and Brilique in Europe) has been recommended for patients with acute coronary syndrome - a range of conditions related to sudden reduced blood flow to the heart.
Last December, an investigation by The BMJ found serious data integrity problems in the landmark clinical trial (PLATO) that was used to ...
Paper outlines more efficient organic photoredox catalysis system inspired by photosynthesis
2025-06-19
EMBARGO: THIST CONTENT IS UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 2 P.M. U.S. EASTERN STANDARD TIME ON JUNE 19, 2025. INTERESTED MEDIA MAY RECIVE A PREVIEW COPY OF THE JOURNAL ARTICLE IN ADVANCE OF THAT DATE OR CONDUCT INTERVIEWS, BUT THE INFORMATION MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, OR POSTED ONLINE UNTIL AFTER THE RELEASE WINDOW.
Colorado State University researchers have published a paper in Science that describes a new and more efficient light-based process for transforming fossil fuels into useful modern chemicals. In it, they report that their organic ...
Plastic bag bans: Study finds up to 47% drop in shoreline bag litter
2025-06-19
Among the biggest culprits of plastic pollution in the ocean and along shorelines are thin plastic shopping bags, which have low recycling rates and often become litter when they blow away in the wind. Once there, they can entangle animals and break down into harmful microplastics. As awareness of this problem has grown, more than 100 countries have instituted bans or fees on plastic bags. But what effect those policies are having on the amount of plastic litter in the marine environment had not been systematically evaluated until now.
A new study ...
Plastic bag policies are effective in reducing shoreline litter in the US
2025-06-19
Plastic bag regulations – bans and consumer fees – have led to meaningful reductions in plastic litter on U.S. shorelines, according to a new study. Plastic pollution has become a pervasive environmental issue; plastic debris comprises most of the marine litter worldwide and has been shown to pose serious threats to ocean life, ecosystems, and coastal economies. Much of this pollution originates from land and enters the ocean via rivers, wastewater, or wind. Among the most problematic ...