Wildfire smoke exposure linked to higher risk of COVID-19 ANI 19 Jul 2021, 15:27 GMT+10 Washington [US], July 19 (ANI): A new study has found that wildfire smoke may greatly increase susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The findings of the study appeared in the 'Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology'. The research was led by the Center for Genomic Medicine at the Desert Research Institute (DRI), Washoe County Health District (WCHD), and Renown Health (Renown) in Reno, Nev. The DRI-led research team set out to examine whether smoke from 2020 wildfires in the Western US was associated with an increase in SARS-CoV-2 infections in Reno.