A new study by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, has shown that people with parasitic worm infections may experience milder COVID-19 symptoms, as they had different immune responses compared to those without the infections.
The study, conducted in Ghana, sought to find out why people on the African continent had a milder course compared to those from the advanced countries.
The study involving KNUST’s Prof. Alexander Yaw Debrah revealed that those with no symptoms of COVID-19 had the highest rates of parasitic worm infections, while those with mild or moderate symptoms had lower rates.
“It opens up new questions about how the immune system behaves in different environments, especially here in Africa. We now have a scientific reason to explore how these common infections might shape our response to other diseases,” he said.
The research also showed that people who were infected with both SARS-Cov-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) and parasitic worms had a weaker immune response to the virus, which is linked to less severe disease.
The findings published in the journal Vaccines suggest that parasitic worms might help protect against severe COVID-19 by altering the immune system’s reaction to the virus.