Influence of Malaria Edemicity and TB Prevalence on COVID-19 Mortality

Abstract

Background: Regarding SARS-CoV-2 it is well known that a substantial percentage of adult population cannot get infected if exposed to this novel coronavirus. Several studies give primary indication of the possible role of preexisting immunity whether cross immunity or not. Possible role of latent TB and malaria have been already suggested to create innate cross heterogeneous immunity. We look for influence of these factors on COVID -19 mortality in malarious countries.Material and Methods: 80 malarious countries are enrolled in this study. Hierarchical multiple regression type of analyses is used for data analyses. TB prevalence/ 100,000 population standardized to BCG coverage rates is taken as direct factor in the test. Malaria incidence /1000 population is considered as intermediate factor and the outcome is COVID-19 mortality/ 1 million (M) population.Results: The results show with robust statistical support that standardized TB prevalence is significantly associated with reduced COVID-19 mortality. Malaria have an additional effect in reducing COVID-19 mortality with highly significant association.Conclusions: Malaria and standardized TB prevalence are statistically significant factors predicting COVID-19 mortality in negative associations.Funding Statement: No specific source of funding was utilized for the current study.Declaration of Interests: There is no conflict of interest.Ethics Approval Statement: Ethical permission is not necessary as this study analyzed publically published data and patients were not involved.