Environmental Factors and the Epidemics of COVID-19

Lotfi Aleya, Weikuan Gu, and Scott Howard

Lotfi Aleya : lotfi.aleya chez univ-fcomte.fr
Weikuan Gu : wgu chez uthsc.edu
Scott Howard : showard5 chez uthsc.edu

Acronyms : EPRND
Issue Description : Human activities, increased population density, and environmental conditions have a crucial influence on the occurrence, development and spread of infectious diseases and even pandemics. The COVID-19 disease caused by new coronavirus 2019-nCoV has now spread to almost every corner of the world. Compared with MERS and SARS, its long duration of shedding in pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic people, high infectivity, and relatively mild course in many of those affected converge to cause rapid virus spread with 1% to 2% mortality from infection and potentially massive mortality when health systems are overwhelmed by many severely infected people and insufficient capacity to manage them. Its chances and ways of passing on from person to person are more serious than the previous virus infections. At present, new evidence indicates that the 2019-nCoV may be affected by environmental conditions differently than the previous MERS and SARS. For example, it survives longer on the surface of objects and remains stable at higher temperature.
Although thousands of research articles have been published since the emergence of the COVID-19, the impact of environmental conditions on this new coronavirus is still insufficient. In order to cut off transmission and reduce the severity and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to have a more comprehensive and profound understanding of the impact of human activities and environmental conditions on the new corona virus. In this special issue, we welcome scientists to contribute their work exploring the environmental factors that potentially affect the epidemics of COVID-19. This collection of articles will focus on the role of environmental risk factors for epidemics of COVID-19 as well as on the human health under influence of COVID-19.

Keywords : 2019-nCoV, COVID-19, Disease, Environmental factors, epidemics, human activities, Risk factors