TY - JOUR
T1 - Interactions between helminths and tuberculosis infections
T2 - Implications for tuberculosis diagnosis and vaccination in Africa
AU - Cadmusid, Simeon I.
AU - Akinseyeid, Victor O.
AU - Taiwo, Babafemi O.
AU - Pinelli, Elena O.
AU - Soolingen, Dick van
AU - Rhodes, Shelley G.
N1 - Funding Information:
We appreciate Dr. Padmini Salgame (Department of Medicine, Center for Emerging Patho-gens, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers—The State University of New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey, USA) for her suggestions in improving the quality of the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Cadmus et al.
PY - 2020/6
Y1 - 2020/6
N2 - Africa is the second most populous continent and has perennial health challenges. Of the estimated 181 million school aged children in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), nearly half suffer from ascariasis, trichuriasis, or a combination of these infections. Coupled with these is the problem of tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, which is a leading cause of death in the region. Compared to the effect of the human immunodefi-ciency virus on the development of TB, the effect of chronic helminth infections is a neglected area of research, yet helminth infections are as ubiquitous as they are varied and may potentially have profound effects upon host immunity, particularly as it relates to TB infection, diagnosis, and vaccination. Protection against active TB is known to require a clearly delineated T-helper type 1 (Th1) response, while helminths induce a strong opposing Th2 and immune-regulatory host response. This Review highlights the potential challenges of helminth–TB co-infection in Africa and the need for further research.
AB - Africa is the second most populous continent and has perennial health challenges. Of the estimated 181 million school aged children in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), nearly half suffer from ascariasis, trichuriasis, or a combination of these infections. Coupled with these is the problem of tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, which is a leading cause of death in the region. Compared to the effect of the human immunodefi-ciency virus on the development of TB, the effect of chronic helminth infections is a neglected area of research, yet helminth infections are as ubiquitous as they are varied and may potentially have profound effects upon host immunity, particularly as it relates to TB infection, diagnosis, and vaccination. Protection against active TB is known to require a clearly delineated T-helper type 1 (Th1) response, while helminths induce a strong opposing Th2 and immune-regulatory host response. This Review highlights the potential challenges of helminth–TB co-infection in Africa and the need for further research.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85086062995&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85086062995&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008069
DO - 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008069
M3 - Review article
C2 - 32498074
AN - SCOPUS:85086062995
SN - 1935-2727
VL - 14
SP - 1
EP - 20
JO - PLoS neglected tropical diseases
JF - PLoS neglected tropical diseases
IS - 6
M1 - e0008069
ER -