ArticleBMC infectious diseases2023
Malaria and the incidence of COVID-19 in Africa: an ecological study.
Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed.
- Does epidemiological evidence support the success story of Uganda's response to COVID-19?Journal of biosocial science · 2026Article
- Malaria: 11-Year Experience With Imported Cases at a German University Hospital and Epidemiological Trends Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic.Journal of parasitology research · 2026Article
- Assessment of Cytokines TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, TGF-beta-1, and IL-10 in Malaria Patients of the River Nile State , Sudan: A critical study of immune response.BMC immunology · 2025Article
- Circulation of SARS-CoV-2 and Co-Infection withInfectious disease reports · 2025Article
- Rethinking malaria elimination: a perspective on challenges and solutions in Angola.Malaria journal · 2025Review
- Robust COVID-19 Vaccine Responses Despite Filarial Co-Infection: Insights from a Lymphatic Filariasis Cohort in Ghana.Vaccines · 2025Article
- Toll-Like Receptors Agonists: First-Line Defense Tools in the Pandemic Preparedness Arsenal?Archives of Iranian medicine · 2024Article
- The effect on the equilibrium sickle cell allele frequency of the probable protection conferred by malaria and sickle cell gene against other infectious diseases.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- On the feasibility of malaria hypothesis.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- The determinants of COVID-19 case reporting across Africa.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in people attending the two main Goma markets in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.Epidemiology and infection · 2023Article
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1 author.
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Abstract
backgroundIt has been shown that stimulation of innate immunity may provide temporary protection against a variety of infectious diseases. Malaria has been shown to induce a robust innate immune response. This study was conducted to test the hypothesis that if the cumulative number of cases diagnosed with COVID-19 per 100,000 population was correlated with the prevalence of malaria in African countries where both malaria and COVID-19 were prevalent.
methodsIn this ecological study, the cumulative incidence of COVID-19 and the prevalence of malaria were compared in 53 African countries. A negative binomial regression analysis with the cumulative incidence of COVID-19 as the dependent variable, and the human development index (HDI) and the prevalence of malaria, as independent variables, were used.
resultsThe mean cumulative incidence of COVID-19 was 522 cases per 100,000. Each 0.1 unit increase in HDI was associated with 2.4-fold (95% confidence interval 1.8-3.1) increase in the cumulative incidence of COVID-19. Prevalence of malaria was also independently associated with the cumulative incidence; each 10% increase in the prevalence was associated with 28% (10-41%) decrease in the cumulative incidence of COVID-19.
conclusionsMalaria might protect people against SARS-CoV-2 through the stimulation of innate immunity. Stimulation of the innate immune system could be the first line of defense in the pandemic preparedness arsenal.
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