In this work, we use existing particulate matter (PM) data from Dakar, Senegal, satellite aerosol optical depth (AOD) and the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to evaluate the role of dust transport from the Sahara and PM concentrations and exposure into other administrative districts of Senegal during 2015 and 2016. We also use data from the Ministry of Health to examine spatial and temporal patterns of acute respiratory infections, asthma, bronchitis, and tuberculosis across Senegal with an emphasis on Northern Hemisphere winter December-February, when air quality is poor, and June-August when there is an improvement in air quality. Measurements in Dakar, Senegal, suggest hazardous PM 10 concentrations associated with Saharan dust storms but lower PM 10 concentrations during the summer. The WRF dust simulations show a similar temporal pattern to the observations in Dakar, Senegal, with notable biases. However, the WRF model suggests that the highest dust concentrations are found across the northern half of Senegal during the winter season where there are no currently PM measurements. Health data during 2015-2016 show the highest prevalence of asthma and bronchitis in Dakar, Senegal, suggesting that other sources of air pollution are important. Acute respiratory infection is prevalent throughout the country with the high prevalence found in rural zones, for children between 12 and 59 months. All measures including real-time monitoring, air quality forecast, and communication should be used to protect the public from potentially hazardous environmental conditions during the winter season. Plain Language SummaryAir pollution is a leading cause of respiratory and cardiovascular disease and may be responsible for a significant fraction of infant mortality in West Africa. We examine observations and simulations of PM 10 and PM 2.5 concentrations using the Weather Research and Forecasting model during 2015 and 2016 in Dakar, Senegal, and the entire country. We also examine monthly and trimester patterns of asthma, bronchitis, acute respiratory infection, and tuberculosis cases across Senegal. Observations from Senegal show that monthly PM 10 and PM 2.5 concentrations are unhealthy from December through March but improve during the summer months. Saharan dust aerosols, which are transported into Senegal are responsible for the poor air quality through attribution studies using the Weather Research and Forecasting model. We also find the largest numbers of cases of asthma and bronchitis in Dakar, suggesting that urban sources contribute to poor air quality. However, these cases occur during the summer season when air quality is improved. Acute respiratory infection is a public concern in Senegal with the highest values occurring away from the capital city.

The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), originating from the Wuhan region of China, has caused devastating damages across the world. The impact of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) has been reported in global transportation (Abu-Rayash & Dincer, 2020) and power system (Gulati et al., 2021). The greatest impact has been on the global health system, overwhelming the health care facilities of many developed and developing countries (Armocida et al., 2020). COVID-19 infections could be asymptomatic, symptomatic or presymptomatic leading to severe forms which require intubation and can lead to death (Lee et al., 2020). For instance, older patients with more than one underlying medical condition (e.g., hypertension, obesity, diabetes, chronic kidney diseases etc.) are more predisposed to severe COVID-19 complications (Fang et al., 2020; R. T. CDC et al., 2020), although younger and healthier patients are more likely to respond faster to treatment (C. CDC et al., 2020;Wang et al., 2020). Multiple organ failure and cardiopulmonary complications, such as myopericarditis, pulmonary embolism and acute respiratory distress syndrome, represent some of the major complications of severe COVID-19. The COVID-19 outbreak has created a global health crisis. There are a total of 171,259,456 COVID-19 cases, 3,567,030 deaths worldwide as of 2 June 2021 (John Hopkins University, 2021) with Nigeria having the highest number of cases (166,534) and deaths (2,099) in West Africa. The first case of COVID-19 incidence was reported on 27 February 2020. Since then the reported confirmed cases increased considerably to about 1,350 cases before the end of the second month. Lagos State, Kano State and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) reported the highest number of cases in Nigeria. The Federal government of Nigeria and various State Governments imposed restrictive measures such suspension of all activities and religious gatherings, indefinite closure of public and private schools/institutions, extension of the travel ban to some countries, suspension of the

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We identify bacteria types on collected dust samples in Dakar Senegal, a region that experiences frequent Saharan dust events. We use classical techniques to identify bacteria types from dust samples. Seventy-seven bacteria types are identified from samples collected by spatula and the QuickTake® 30 air sampling pump. The dominant groups in the first batch of 51 bacteria (collected via deposition) are Micrococcus (33.33%), Bacillus (13.73%), Kytococcus (11.76%), Pseudomonas (9.80%), and Burkholderia (7.84%) and dominants in the second batch of 26 bacteria (collected with aerosol sampling vacuum pump): Pseudomonas (38.61%), Burkholderia (26.92%), Micrococcus (11.54%), and Brucella spp (7.69%). These bacteria are found in earlier studies from desert sources and can potentially cause respiratory diseases to exposed populations. Future work will use molecular methods is necessary to search for additional pathogens, including viruses on dust aerosols.Plain Language Summary Bacteria on the surfaces of Saharan dust samples collected from 2013-2016 were analyzed using traditional techniques at Dakar, Senegal. The samples were collected using a spatula and the QuickTake® 30 air sampling pump. The analysis finds some bacteria that are linked to respiratory disease, including Micrococcus, Burkholderia, and Pseudomonas. We believe that the spatula technique may include bacteria such as Bacillus from soils, which was not present in airborne samples. Additional analysis using genomic techniques will assist in better identifying bacteria and potential pathogens, which can impacts West African populations and are transported downstream over long distances to the Caribbean, Southeastern United States, South America, and Europe. During the dry season, PM 10 surface dust concentrations can reach hazardous levels with Marticornea et al. (2010) and Diokhane et al. (2016), showing frequent daily surface PM 10 concentrations exceeding 500 μg m −3 , which is 10 times the World Health Organization (2006) recommended daily levels of 50 μg m −3 . During the summer season, Toure et al. (2019) show that PM 10 monthly concentrations at Dakar, Senegal fall below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency criteria of unhealthy levels (250 μg m −3 ), and monthly values are approximately 50 μg m −3 during August and September. The reduction in summer PM 10 and PM 2.5