{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,23]],"date-time":"2026-01-23T20:52:08Z","timestamp":1769201528284,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,4]],"date-time":"2021-05-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1620086400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,4]],"date-time":"2021-05-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1620086400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Gut Pathog"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>By 27 June 2020, almost half a million people had died due to COVID-19 infections. The susceptibility and severity of infection vary significantly across nations. The contribution of chronic viral and parasitic infections to immune homeostasis remains a concern. By investigating the role of interferon (IFN)-\u03b3, we conducted this study to understand the connection between the decrease in numbers and severity of COVID-19 cases within parasitic endemic regions. Our research included 375 patients referred to hospitals for diagnosis of COVID-19 infection. Patients were subjected to full investigations, in particular severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 nucleic acid and <jats:italic>Toxoplasma<\/jats:italic> IgM and IgG antibody detection, stool examination, and quantitative IFN-\u03b3 measurement.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>The majority of the studied cases had chest manifestation either alone (54.7%) or in association with gastrointestinal (GIT) manifestations (19.7%), whereas 25.6% had GIT symptoms. We reported parasitic infections in 72.8% of mild COVID-19 cases and 20.7% of severe cases. <jats:italic>Toxoplasma gondii<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Cryptosporidium, Blastocyst,<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Giardia<\/jats:italic> were the most common parasitic infections among the COVID-19 cases studied.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>The remarkable adaptation of human immune response to COVID-19 infection by parasitic infections with high levels of IFN-\u03b3 was observed in moderate cases compared with low levels in extreme cases. The potential therapeutic efforts aimed at the role of parasitic infection in immune system modulation are needed if this hypothesis is confirmed.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s13099-021-00427-3","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,4]],"date-time":"2021-05-04T20:03:06Z","timestamp":1620158586000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":35,"title":["Role of interferon gamma in SARS-CoV-2-positive patients with parasitic infections"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4039-2710","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Enas Fakhry","family":"Abdel-Hamed","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mohamed N.","family":"Ibrahim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nahed E.","family":"Mostafa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Howayda S. 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The\u2009+ve cases for parasites were treated. The confidentiality of data and information from this research was kept. Written consent was obtained from each participant.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethical approval and consent to participate"}},{"value":"The authors affirm that they have no competing interests regarding the publication of this manuscript.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing interests"}}],"article-number":"29"}}