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. 2020 Apr 23:7:146.
doi: 10.3389/fmed.2020.00146. eCollection 2020.

The Malnutritional Status of the Host as a Virulence Factor for New Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2

Matteo Briguglio  1 , Fabrizio Ernesto Pregliasco  2   3 , Giovanni Lombardi  4   5 , Paolo Perazzo  6 , Giuseppe Banfi  1   7
Affiliations

The Malnutritional Status of the Host as a Virulence Factor for New Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2

Matteo Briguglio et al. Front Med (Lausanne). .
No abstract available

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; coronavirus; host pathogen interactions; infections; nutritional status; quality of health care; virulence.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The SARS-CoV-2 virulence and the malnutritional status of the human host: immune-based dysfunctions in hypo- and hypernutrition. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus that was discovered in Hubei province, China, at the end of December 2019 (SARS-CoV-2) is a single-strand positive-sense RNA virus with the encoding potential of four structural proteins: the spike (S), the envelope (E), the membrane (M), and the nucleocapsid (N). It spreads through respiratory droplets of infected patients that can deposit on body parts and fomites. The basal immune dysfunction that exists in protein-energy malnutrition and sarcopenic obesity can make individuals more susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 contraction and affections. Other than the collapse of alveoli and respiratory failure, the coronavirus replication leads to systemic consequences in the brain, liver, kidneys, and gut. Once affected, malnourished individuals will have fewer body reservoirs and immune potential to fight for recovery.
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