SARS-CoV-2 infection and parasitic diseases: A possible role for microbiome interaction?

Microsporidia are a group of obligate intracellular fungi that were initially classified as protists but were later reclassified based on phylogenetic, molecular, and structural evidence linking them to the Chytridiomycota. These unicellular, non-motile organisms are highly specialized parasites that infect a wide range of animal hosts, including humans. They have evolved extensive genomic and metabolic reductions, making them highly dependent on their hosts for survival.Morphology and Genomic...

When a pathogen enters the body and reproduces, it can cause an infection, damage body cells, and cause illness symptoms that eventually lead to disease. Therefore, its prevention requires breaking the chain of infection.
The chain begins with pathogens: bacteria, viruses, fungi, prions, or parasites such as protozoa helminths. These can be present on the skin as transient or resident flora, or they can be acquired from the environment. Identifying and treating the type of infection and...

Skin is the first line of defense and encounters a variety of microbes. Some pathogenic strains are often the cause of a broad range of infections of the skin and other body systems. These conditions can affect people of all ages and may have different causes, including genetic factors, infections, autoimmune reactions, environmental factors, and lifestyle choices.
Gram-positive Staphylococcus spp. and Streptococcus spp. are responsible for many of the most common skin infections. However, many...

A single nucleotide polymorphism or SNP is a single nucleotide variation at a specific genomic position in a large population. It is the most prevalent type of sequence variation found in the human genome. Point mutations that occur in more than 1% of the population qualify as SNPs. These are present once every 1000 nucleotides on an average in the human genome. Replacement of a purine with another purine (A/G) or a pyrimidine with another pyrimidine (C/T) is known as a transition. In contrast,...

The hosts' susceptibility to infection depends on several factors. The integrity of the skin and mucous membranes helps protect the body against microbial attacks. When the skin is altered, the chance of infection, limb loss, and even death increases.
The integrity and count of the white blood cells help the body resist pathogens and fight infection. When impaired, it reduces the body's resistance to pathogens. The acidic pH levels of the gastrointestinal, genitourinary tracts, and skin...

Cells are sometimes infected by more than one virus at once. When two viruses disassemble to expose their genomes for replication in the same cell, similar regions of their genomes can pair together and exchange sequences in a process called recombination. Alternatively, viruses with segmented genomes can swap segments in a process called reassortment.