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| LETTER TO EDITOR |
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| Year : 2022 | Volume
: 12
| Issue : 1 | Page : 65 |
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Relationship between incidence of lymphatic filariasis and incidence of COVID-19: An observation from endemic area
Pathum Sookaromdee1, Viroj Wiwanitkit2
1 Private Academic Consultant, Bangkok, Thailand
2 Research Center, Parasitic Disease Research Unit, Institute of Medicine, Suranaree University of Technology, Nakornratchasrima Province, Thailand; Department of Community Medicine, Dr DY Patil University, Pune, Maharashtra, India; Department of Biological Science, Joseph Ayobabalola University, Ikeji, Arakeji, Nigeri
| Date of Submission | 27-May-2021 |
| Date of Acceptance | 30-Sep-2021 |
| Date of Web Publication | 25-Jun-2022 |
Correspondence Address:
Pathum Sookaromdee
Pathum Sookaromdee Private Academic Consultant, Bangkok
Thailand
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/tp.tp_39_21
How to cite this article:
Sookaromdee P, Wiwanitkit V. Relationship between incidence of lymphatic filariasis and incidence of COVID-19: An observation from endemic area. Trop Parasitol 2022;12:65 |
Sir,
Parasitic infestation is a common problem in tropical country. Many parasitic infections are common in tropical Asia including lymphatic filariasis. In Indochina, the high incidence of Brugia malayi infection is reported in the Malaysian peninsula.[1] The interrelationship between the lymphatic filariasis and other infection is an interesting issue. The authors would like to offer preliminary data from a tropical nation in Indochina where B. malayi infection is still prevalent. The active blood screening and ivermectin mass chemoprophylaxis are used as public health strategies for containment of filariasis in this setting.[2] The local data on incidence of COVID-19 and incidence of B. malayi infection are presented in [Table 1]. The clinical relationship between blood nematode infection and COVID-19 is little mentioned. Indeed, some reports mention that ivermectin, an important drug for prevention of lymphatic filiariasis, might have anti-COVID-19 effect.[3],[4] In this report, there is no evidence that the endemicity of B. malayi infection contributes any protective role against COVID-19. Although ivermectin is also used in the endemic area of B. malayi infection, southern region, in this report, the high incidence of COVID-19 is still observed and the incidence is also higher than those observed in some areas that are not endemic area of B. malayi infection. | Table 1: Incidence of COVID-19 and incidence of Brugia malayi infection in different regions (data on December 2020)
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Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
 References | |  |
| 1. | Dickson BF, Graves PM, McBride WJ. Lymphatic filariasis in mainland Southeast Asia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence and disease burden. Trop Med Infect Dis 2017;2:32.  |
| 2. | Rojanapanus S, Toothong T, Boondej P, Thammapalo S, Khuanyoung N, Santabutr W, et al. How Thailand eliminated lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem. Infect Dis Poverty 2019;8:38. |
| 3. | Perez-Garcia LA, Mejias-Carpio IE, Delgado-Noguera LA, Manzanarez-Motezuma JP, Escalona-Rodriguez MA, Sordillo EM, et al. Ivermectin: Repurposing a multipurpose drug for Venezuela's humanitarian crisis. Int J Antimicrob Agents 2020;56:106037. |
| 4. | Padhy BM, Mohanty RR, Das S, Meher BR. Therapeutic potential of ivermectin as add on treatment in COVID 19: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Pharm Pharm Sci 2020;23:462-9. |
[Table 1]
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