Shafaq News/ A team of Dutch scientists conducted a study that concluded a possible association between the prevalence of pollen grains in the air and the low number of Covid-19 cases.

Scientists from the Dutch Open University and Erasmus Medical Center published a preliminary version of an article explaining the link between the spread of pollen in the air and the decrease in the number of influenza infections, as they considered this trend also applies to the novel Coronavirus causing Covid-19 disease.

The researchers established curves associating data on influenza infections and the prevalence of pollen in the years 2016 to 2020, as well as Covid-19 case count in Netherlands.

Scientists have come to a conclusion that data about the appearance of pollen in the air could, in combination with data on solar activity, can be a predictor of the prevalence of influenza-like diseases, including Covid-19.

Meanwhile, Oleg Battishchev, associate professor of the Department of Biophysics at Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, told the Russian newspaper “Izvestia” that the emergence of large quantities of pollen grains in the air could actually lead to the fusion of small spray particles that contain elements the virus, which makes it heavier, slows down its spread.

“The flowering begins when certain air temperatures and appropriate level of solar activity are reached. Other factors that also affect the virus. High temperature and ultraviolet radiation reduce the spread of viruses. For this reason, this can be just a coincidence,” Battishchev added.