Tuberculosis endemicity and BCG vaccination: Protection against COVID-19

By Y tambe - Y tambe's file, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1827666
Submitted: March 30, 2022
Accepted: June 13, 2022
Published: June 24, 2022
Abstract Views: 892
PDF: 234
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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected different countries in a differential manner. The host susceptibility and host factors are important parameters for this variability. This study aimed to assess the effect of tuberculosis (TB) endemicity and Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) coverage on COVID-19. Available data regarding TB incidence, BCG coverage (as per the World Health Organization), and COVID-19 incidence of 168 countries as of 19th September 2021was collected. Countries were divided into four cohorts based upon annual TB incidence and BCG coverage and COVID-19 incidence and case fatality rates were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Countries with low TB incidence and low BCG coverage had the highest COVID-19 incidence per lac population. However, no significant difference was seen in COVID-19 cases fatality rate. Higher TB incidence and BCG coverage were associated with lesser incidence of COVID-19. This result paves the way for research into pathogenesis and host immune response in COVID-19.

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How to Cite

Boppana, Tarun Krishna, Saurabh Mittal, Karan Madan, Anant Mohan, Vijay Hadda, and Randeep Guleria. 2022. “Tuberculosis Endemicity and BCG Vaccination: Protection Against COVID-19”. Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease 93 (1). https://doi.org/10.4081/monaldi.2022.2281.