Doctors warn that the prolonged haze will take its toll on health

“This translates above all into exacerbations in patients with COPD, asthma or pulmonary emphysema,” he stresses. At the moment, in the Emergency services and Pneumology wards of the hospitals in the Region, no increase in income has been detected that could be linked to this episode of contamination, but this does not mean that there will not be an impact. “There is no automatic relationship between one thing and another. It is something that is observed with retrospective studies; It is not something sudden that occurs from one day to the next, “explains José Antonio Ros, a pulmonologist at La Arrixaca.

In this sense, the head of the Reina Sofía Emergency Department, Pascual Piñera, warns that it is “early” to assess this possible impact. “We have to be attentive to next week. The effects on health are seen ‘after the fact’. Normally, patients with COPD or heart failure, which worsen. The haze episode has been prolonged, and it can have effects on health », he explains.

The former mayor of Murcia, José Antonio Serrano, already incorporated into the Morales Meseguer Emergency Department, agrees with Piñera. “We are caring for chronically elderly patients with respiratory disease, but we cannot be certain that their clinical situation is related to this episode. You have to wait a bit to be able to see the effects », he points out. Carlos Pérez Crespo, head of the Emergency section of La Arrixaca, does have the perception that there is a greater pressure on care due to respiratory pathology, “but it is not quantified”, In addition, “it is difficult” to establish direct cause-and-effect relationships .

Olga Meca, president of Somupar, recalls that in previous episodes, “like the one last March,” an increase in respiratory complications was already detected.

The effects, in any case, have been experienced firsthand by many citizens who these days have noticed mild discomfort in the throat, nose or eyes due to suspended particles, underlines José Antonio Ros.

Vulnerable groups

The head of the Environmental Health Unit of La Arrixaca, Juan Antonio Ortega, calculates that “every man, woman and child in the Region has breathed, each day of haze, the equivalent effect of smoking 5 to 10 cigarettes a day ».

“Children and pregnant women are two especially vulnerable groups – warns Ortega -; Particle exposure has been associated with reduced fetal weight and growth, and preterm birth.” In this sense, “it increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases and alterations in neurodevelopment.” In addition, already in the postnatal stage, exposure to pollution “exacerbates and aggravates asthma, and is associated with inflammation of the upper and lower respiratory tract.” If this exposure is prolonged, “it has effects on neurodevelopment and academic performance.”

Particles in suspension “we should consider them as a front-line cardiovascular risk factor for childhood and adult life,” stresses the person in charge of Environmental Health at La Arrixaca. During this week, the levels of particles in the air have been up to 12 times above the limits established in the Region of Murcia.