Midwest hospitals see an uptick in respiratory cases as wildfire smoke swirls in the region

As wildfires burn in eastern Canada, smoke and pollutants drift over the heavily impacted Northeast and into the Midwest. Poor air quality levels in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska, may be hurting people with more sensitive breathing conditions.
Some health care providers in the Midwest say they are seeing more respiratory illnesses in the past few days possibly related to the wildfires in Canada. Air quality across the Midwest dipped to concerning levels beginning Tuesday.

In Iowa, providers at MercyOne clinics around Des Moines say more patients than usual are showing up with symptoms in line with air pollution, including exacerbated asthma and COPD.

In Madison, Wisconsin, a spokesperson for SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital says its pulmonologist has seen an increase in patients with COPD and long-term lung conditions experiencing breathing irritations.