Correlation between Helicobacter pylori Infection and COVID-19

COVID-19 and Helicobacter pylori are pathogens associated with the most common viral and bacterial infections globally. The coinfection of pathogenic bacteria and COVID-19 represented a true health challenge. The current study aimed to estimate the incidence of H. pylori in patients with COVID-19.

This experimental study was conducted in Karbalaa's COVID-19 Isolation Center from Feb. 2021 to July 2021, 130 COVID-19 patients were entered the study. A control group of 130 seemingly healthy people of similar ages and sexes was also enlisted in this research. COVID-19-infected patients were confirmed by Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction device. The samples were processed for total WBCs, and neutrophils were automatically computed. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21 software by independent T and Chi-square tests.

COVID-19 infection was more frequent in males than females, especially between 15 and 25 years. The COVID-19 patients were detected to have increased neutrophils count (p<0.0001) and decreased lymphocytes compared to the healthy persons (p<0.0001). A significant correlation between H. pylori and COVID-19 was discovered, especially in females.

H. pylori-infected patients are more susceptible to COVID-19 than other persons without H. pylori infections.