A study recently published in Neglected Tropical Diseases PLOS Explore the relationship between the prevalence of pre-existing parasitic diseases and the outcome of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at the national level. The study reveals that countries where malaria is most prevalent have a lower rate of COVID-19.
background
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused unprecedented damage to the global economy and healthcare system. In the early stage of the pandemic, low to middle income countries were expected to have the greatest impact due to poor health policies and a lack of resources and infrastructure.
Contrary to expectations, lower incidence and severity of COVID-19 has been observed in socio-economically disadvantaged countries such as sub-Saharan Africa compared to economically rich and developed countries such as the USA and Europe.
Several hypotheses have been put forward to explain this marked difference in COVID-19 outcomes between countries. Several causative factors have been identified, including sociodemographic and geographic factors, prevalence of comorbidities, and climatic conditions, as well as potential underreporting.
In the current study, scientists investigated whether the prevalence of neglected tropical diseases could affect the outcome of COVID-19. Neglected tropical diseases primarily involve parasitic infections that are highly prevalent in socio-economically disadvantaged countries.
study design
Scientists conducted an environmental study using publicly available nationwide data to determine the relationship between parasitic disease prevalence and COVID-19 infection rates. They took into account several demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic confounding factors and adjusted their effects on potential association.
Of the various parasites that infect humans only schistosomiasis spp. , soil-transmitted helminths, and Plasmodium Prosecution. were considered in the study.
Given the severity of COVID-19 in people with pre-existing health conditions, prevalence and mortality rates from non-communicable diseases have been considered as prognostic factors.
Given the severity of COVID-19 in the elderly, the proportion of the population aged 65 years and over was considered a demographic factor.
With regard to socio-economic factors, state-level healthcare infrastructure, income, and general standard of living have been considered. Furthermore, state-level population density, urban population density, and average surface temperature were considered as geographical factors.
Important notes
Epidemiological data obtained from 202 countries were analyzed in the study. Among these countries, the highest incidence of COVID-19 is observed in the United States, followed by Europe, Southeast Asia, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Western Pacific, and Africa.
A heterogeneous distribution of parasitic diseases was also observed across the countries analyzed. Malaria is endemic mostly in African and Western Pacific countries. Interestingly, these countries have been the least affected by the pandemic.
Evaluation of the relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable revealed that countries with a higher prevalence of parasitic diseases had a lower incidence of COVID-19.
Given the confounding factors, countries with a high prevalence of tuberculosis, a high surface temperature, or the later emergence of COVID-19 saw a lower rate of COVID-19. Furthermore, a positive association has been observed between the incidence of COVID-19 and the proportion of older adults in the population, nationwide income, healthcare infrastructure, proportion of people living in urban areas, non-communicable disease-related mortality rates, educational level, and COVID vaccine coverage. -19.
Considering parasitic diseases, a significant decrease in the incidence of COVID-19 has been observed in countries where malaria is highly prevalent. This association remained significant even after adjusting for confounding variables, country-level income, proportion of older adults, and differences in COVID-19 duration in a multivariate analysis that included data from 165 countries.
Study the importance
The study demonstrated that the national prevalence of malaria is an important indicator of the incidence of COVID-19. The study also found a negative but non-significant association between the prevalence of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths and the incidence of COVID-19. As mentioned by scientists, more studies are needed to determine the impact of these other neglected tropical diseases.
Overall, the study highlights the need for more research at the subnational and individual level to explore the outcomes of COVID-19, particularly in malaria-endemic countries.
Originally published at San Jose News Bulletin
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