SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Patients with Cystic Fibrosis: What We Know So Far

Abstract

Respiratory infections are the most common and most frequent diseases, especially in children and the elderly, characterized by a clear seasonality and with an incidence that usually tends to decrease with increasing age. These infections often resolve spontaneously, usually without the need for antibiotic treatment and/or with the possible use of symptomatic treatments aimed at reducing overproduction of mucus and decreasing coughing. However, when these infections occur in patients with weakened immune systems and/or underlying health conditions, their impact can become dramatic and in some cases life threatening. The rapid worldwide spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has caused concern for everyone, becoming especially important for individuals with underlying lung diseases, such as CF patients, who have always paid close attention to implementing protective strategies to avoid infection. However, adult and pediatric CF patients contract coronavirus infection like everyone else. In addition, although numerous studies were published during the first wave of the pandemic on the risk for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) to develop severe manifestations when infected with SARS-CoV-2, to date, a high risk has been found only for patients with poorer lung function and post-transplant status. In terms of preventive measures, vaccination remains key. The best protection for these patients is to strengthen preventive measures, such as social distancing and the use of masks. In this review, we aim to summarize and discuss recent advances in understanding the susceptibility of CF individuals to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Occurrence of COVID-19 in cystic fibrosis patients: a review

“…CF patients also take precautions to prevent the spread of infection, including self-isolation, which probably contributes to the low occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in this population (Bezzerri et al, 2020 ; Biondo et al, 2022 ). The Cystic Fibrosis Center in Parma endorsed self-isolation measures, including hand hygiene, sporting face masks, and remote verbal exchange, to reveal and avoid group activities throughout the pandemic period in Italy.…”

Crosslink between SARS-CoV-2 replication and cystic fibrosis hallmarks

“…Viral infections could have important effects on lung disease in pwCF, therefore, these patients were expected to be at increased risk of developing severe SARS-CoV-2 infections. However, several reports have demonstrated that worse outcomes did not occur in pwCF (Mathew et al, 2021;Biondo et al, 2022). A multinational cohort study of 40 individuals with CF identified an incidence of COVID-19 in pwCF of 0.07% compared to 0.15% in the general population (Cosgriff et al, 2020).…”

Tackling Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis: New Challenges from the Old Pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis

“…While the mechanisms by which HIV reactivates latent TB are known, the impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV) infection on latent TB is less clear [ 54 ]. SARS-CoV is a novel coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 and caused the pandemic respiratory disease known as coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) [ 83 ]. COVID-19 was the fifth leading cause of death worldwide, and in the three years since the start of the pandemic, COVID-19 has killed more than 7.3 million people worldwide [ 84 ].…”