Open AccessTHE DARK SIDE OF THE COVID-19 TREATMENTS ON MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS INFECTION
Author(s) -
Flavio De Maio,
Delia Mercedes Bianco,
Giovanni Delogu
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
mediterranean journal of hematology and infectious diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.682
H-Index - 31
ISSN - 2035-3006
DOI - 10.4084/mjhid.2022.021
Subject(s) - medicine , covid-19 , mycobacterium tuberculosis , virology , tuberculosis , microbiology and biotechnology , pathology , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty) , outbreak , biology
Since the emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) at the end of 2019, a number of medications have been used to treat the infection and the related Coronavirus disease – 19 (COVID-19).Some of the administered drugs were tested or used in practice only on the basis of biological plausibility; a promising strategy was to target the host immune response, with host directed therapies (HDTs), to reduce systemic hyperinflammation and hypercytokinemia responsible for additional tissue damage.We summarize the treatments against SARS-CoV-2 and underline their possible effects on Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection. Both SARS-CoV-2 and Mtb respiratory infections impair the host’s immune response. Furthermore, little research has been conducted on the impact of medicaments used to counteract COVID-19 disease in patients with Latent Tuberculosis Infection (LTBI). A number of these drugs may modulate host immune response by modifying LTBI dynamic equilibrium, favoring either the host or the bacteria. Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, COVID-19, Tuberculosis, Host directed therapies