The New Status of Parasitic Diseases in the COVID-19 Pandemic—Risk Factors or Protective Agents?

Abstract

It is possible that parasites may influence the course of COVID-19 infection, as either risk factors or protective agents; as such, the current coronavirus pandemic may affect the diagnosis and prevention of parasitic disease, and its elimination programs. The present review highlights the similarity between the symptoms of human parasitoses and those of COVID-19 and discuss their mutual influence. The study evaluated selected human parasitoses with similar symptoms to COVID-19 and examined their potential influence on SARS-CoV-2 virus invasion. The available data suggest that at least several human parasitoses could result in misdiagnosis of COVID-19. Some disorders, such as malaria, schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths, can increase the risk of severe infection with COVID-19. It is also suggested that recovery from parasitic disease can enhance the immune system and protect from COVID-19 infection. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected parasitic disease elimination programs in endemic regions and influenced the number of diagnoses of human parasitoses.

Intestinal parasitic infections among patients referred to hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, southern Iran: a retrospective study in pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic

“…Wolday et al ( 2021 ) reported that the patients co-infected with parasites had lower odds of developing severe COVID-19. It has been hypothesized that the low incidence rates of COVID-19 could result from increased exposure to parasites in some countries (Głuchowska et al 2021 ). It has also been proposed that parasites may cause a better tolerance of COVID-19 (Ssebambulidde et al 2020 ; Fonte et al 2020 ).…”

Parasites Protect from Severe COVID-19. Myth or Reality?

“…International Journal of Infectious Diseases During the overheating investigations of factors that can decrease COVID-19 severity, coinfection with some parasitic diseases was identified ( Gluchowska et al, 2021 ). In this letter, we will elaborate why we think that the protective effect of intestinal parasitic coinfection with COVID-19 could be a myth.…”

Mitigation of Soil-Transmitted Helminthiases Resurgence in the Era of Covid-19 Disruption: A Literature Review

“…The Covid-19 pandemic has marginalized many other illnesses because of interruptions (Gluchowska, et al,2021;Hotez, et al, 2021). Before the pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified several infectious diseases as neglected tropical diseases (NTD) (World Health Organization & United Nations Children's Fund, 2020).…”