Pneumology - Original Articles
24 June 2022
Vol. 93 No. 1 (2023)
https://doi.org/10.4081/monaldi.2022.2281

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
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tuberculosis, COVID-19, BCG
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Authors

Tarun Krishna Boppana
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9970-3712
Department of Pulmonary, Critical care and Sleep Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India.
Saurabh Mittal
saurabh_kgmu@yahoo.co.in
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7979-6405
Department of Pulmonary, Critical care and Sleep Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India.
Karan Madan
Department of Pulmonary, Critical care and Sleep Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India.
Anant Mohan
Department of Pulmonary, Critical care and Sleep Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India.
Vijay Hadda
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5820-3685
Department of Pulmonary, Critical care and Sleep Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India.
Randeep Guleria
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6258-2160
Department of Pulmonary, Critical care and Sleep Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India.

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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“Tuberculosis Endemicity and BCG Vaccination: Protection Against COVID-19”. 2022. Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease 93 (1). https://doi.org/10.4081/monaldi.2022.2281.
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