According to a new study released Tuesday, a link has been found between pneumonia-related deaths and traffic fumes.
That’s hardly surprising, taking into account what we already know about carbon monoxide, the greenhouse effect, and the pace of the "overheating" economy in China – where production is so high that the common man is falling ill to ailments from the industrial boom in the most rapidly emerging economy in the world. Not to mention the most populated one, as well.
The study, done at the University of Birmingham was conducted from 1996-2004. It concludes that approximately 4000 deaths are added each year due to engine or combustion pollution.
Experts say that the new finding establishes a strong correleation between traffic pollution and death due to pneumonia in England.
"Many ‘pneumonia’ deaths were probably caused by direct chemical injury, as in the 1952 London smog, and thus are better regarded as ‘acute respiratory distress syndrome’ or ‘acute lung injury’," Professor George Knox, a lead researcher in the study told BBC.