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In a pre-print paper, CSIR talks about better 'immune training' among Indians that may be the reason why the country has lower Covid cases and deaths per million than global average.
ABANTIKA GHOSH 27 October, 2020 6:20 pm IST
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Representational Image | A medical worker collects sample for Covid-19 testing | Suraj Singh Bisht
New Delhi: US President Donald Trump may have ruffled a few feathers with his “India is filthy” remark, but if a new paper by the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is anything to go by, the country’s less than desirable hygiene levels have likely helped Indians fight Covid-19 better.
The study, which has not been peer-reviewed, says that high parasite and bacterial disease burden in “low and low-middle income countries” and a chronic exposure to communicable diseases lead to “immune training” among populations.
It draws on what is known as the immune hypothesis, which states that better hygiene and decreasing incidence of infections in developed countries have given rise to autoimmune disorders and allergies.
Autoimmune disorders are a risk factor in Covid-19 patients because the body’s own hyperactive immune response creates what is known as the cytokine storm, that is often the real killer.
“Our observation of the weak negative correlation of Covid-19 LDM (log of deaths per million) with communicable diseases, and its positive correlation with incidence of autoimmune disorders in the high GDP countries, is indication of the interplay of host immunity and viral infection,” read the pre-print paper on medRxiv.
Shekhar Mande, CSIR director general, who is also an author of the study, told ThePrint, “We analysed 25 parameters. It seemed paradoxical that people were dying more in countries with higher GDPs. The explanation is that in these countries, life expectancy is more, they have higher incidences of non-communicable diseases which are all risk factors for Covid-19 deaths.”
He added, “We also looked at the sanitation levels…There is a hygiene hypothesis that says if you are exposed to various pathogens since childhood, you are capable of dealing with them better. Low hygiene means more pathogens and the body’s immune system is better trained to deal even with new ones. When that training is not there, it overreacts, leading to the cytokine storm which can turn fatal.”
More people dying in countries with higher GDP
The study compared publicly available data from 106 countries, including Covid-19 deaths per million, GDP, incidences of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension etc. and sanitation data.
The question of whether BCG vaccinations — used for tuberculosis — have a role to play in the better statistics of some poorer nations was also examined. But the study found “negligible correlation” between BCG vaccination and lower death rates.
“An interesting relationship between severity of Covid-19 outcome and several non-communicable disorders such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular illnesses has been noted,” said the study.
Since a large population with these disorders lives in the high HDI (human development index) countries, co-morbidities might have emerged as important determinants of CFR (case fatality rate) due to Covid-19, the paper noted.
“Similarly, people above the age of 65 are also believed to be at a greater risk, with the percentage of such people being significantly more in the higher HDI countries. Thus, co-morbidities with non-communicable diseases and the fraction of people living above the age of 65, being skewed towards the high-income countries, offers possible explanations to the perplexing observation of CFR dichotomy among nations,” the study said.
When asked, Mande didn’t contest the fact that India is safer because it is filthier, though he laughed at the mention of Trump’s statement.
theprint.in
ABANTIKA GHOSH 27 October, 2020 6:20 pm IST
https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://theprint.in/health/indias-low-hygiene-gives-it-more-immunity-against-virus-helps-in-covid-fight-csir-study/531801/
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Representational Image | A medical worker collects sample for Covid-19 testing | Suraj Singh Bisht
New Delhi: US President Donald Trump may have ruffled a few feathers with his “India is filthy” remark, but if a new paper by the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is anything to go by, the country’s less than desirable hygiene levels have likely helped Indians fight Covid-19 better.
The study, which has not been peer-reviewed, says that high parasite and bacterial disease burden in “low and low-middle income countries” and a chronic exposure to communicable diseases lead to “immune training” among populations.
It draws on what is known as the immune hypothesis, which states that better hygiene and decreasing incidence of infections in developed countries have given rise to autoimmune disorders and allergies.
Autoimmune disorders are a risk factor in Covid-19 patients because the body’s own hyperactive immune response creates what is known as the cytokine storm, that is often the real killer.
“Our observation of the weak negative correlation of Covid-19 LDM (log of deaths per million) with communicable diseases, and its positive correlation with incidence of autoimmune disorders in the high GDP countries, is indication of the interplay of host immunity and viral infection,” read the pre-print paper on medRxiv.
Shekhar Mande, CSIR director general, who is also an author of the study, told ThePrint, “We analysed 25 parameters. It seemed paradoxical that people were dying more in countries with higher GDPs. The explanation is that in these countries, life expectancy is more, they have higher incidences of non-communicable diseases which are all risk factors for Covid-19 deaths.”
He added, “We also looked at the sanitation levels…There is a hygiene hypothesis that says if you are exposed to various pathogens since childhood, you are capable of dealing with them better. Low hygiene means more pathogens and the body’s immune system is better trained to deal even with new ones. When that training is not there, it overreacts, leading to the cytokine storm which can turn fatal.”
More people dying in countries with higher GDP
The study compared publicly available data from 106 countries, including Covid-19 deaths per million, GDP, incidences of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension etc. and sanitation data.
The question of whether BCG vaccinations — used for tuberculosis — have a role to play in the better statistics of some poorer nations was also examined. But the study found “negligible correlation” between BCG vaccination and lower death rates.
“An interesting relationship between severity of Covid-19 outcome and several non-communicable disorders such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular illnesses has been noted,” said the study.
Since a large population with these disorders lives in the high HDI (human development index) countries, co-morbidities might have emerged as important determinants of CFR (case fatality rate) due to Covid-19, the paper noted.
“Similarly, people above the age of 65 are also believed to be at a greater risk, with the percentage of such people being significantly more in the higher HDI countries. Thus, co-morbidities with non-communicable diseases and the fraction of people living above the age of 65, being skewed towards the high-income countries, offers possible explanations to the perplexing observation of CFR dichotomy among nations,” the study said.
When asked, Mande didn’t contest the fact that India is safer because it is filthier, though he laughed at the mention of Trump’s statement.
India's low hygiene gives it more immunity against virus, helps in Covid fight — CSIR study
In a pre-print paper, CSIR talks about better 'immune training' among Indians that may be the reason why the country has lower Covid cases and deaths per million than global average.
theprint.in
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