Letter to the Editor
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Virol. Mar 25, 2022; 11(2): 107-110
Published online Mar 25, 2022. doi: 10.5501/wjv.v11.i2.107
Bacterial and fungal co-infection is a major barrier in COVID-19 patients: A specific management and therapeutic strategy is required
Tarun Sahu, Henu Kumar Verma, Lakkakula V K S Bhaskar
Tarun Sahu, Department of Physiology, All India Institute of Medical Science, Raipur 492001, Chhattisgarh, India
Henu Kumar Verma, Department of Immunopathology, Institute of Lung Health and Immunity, Comprehensive Pneumology Center, Helmholtz Zentrum, Munich 85764, Germany
Lakkakula V K S Bhaskar, Department of Zoology, Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur 495001, Chhattisgarh, India
Author contributions: Sahu T, Verma HK, and Bhaskar LVKS wrote and revised the letter.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Henu Kumar Verma, PhD, Research Scientist, Senior Researcher, Department of Immunopathology, Institute of Lung Health and Immunity, Comprehensive Pneumology Center, Helmholtz Zentrum, Neuherberg Inglostäder Landstrapβe 1, Munich 85764, Germany. henu.verma@yahoo.com
Received: August 14, 2021
Peer-review started: August 14, 2021
First decision: September 2, 2021
Revised: September 8, 2021
Accepted: February 10, 2022
Article in press: February 10, 2022
Published online: March 25, 2022
Processing time: 219 Days and 20.3 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: The immune systems of coronavirus disease 2019 patients are already compromised, making them vulnerable to bacterial, fungal, and viral co-infections. These secondary infections, also known as co-infections, are hospital-acquired/nosocomial infections, and mechanically ventilated patients are especially vulnerable. There are no specific guidelines or treatment options for these types of co-infections at the moment, which is contributing to an increase in morbidity and mortality among these patients.