New tuberculosis treatment strategy will help COVID-19 patients

A team of specialists from the University of Zurich published a study in which they told how to help people who have had coronavirus. The work is based on a study conducted on bacteria that cause tuberculosis.

Scientists were able to find a way to deprive such bacteria of nutrition, which ultimately inhibits the development of tuberculosis. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists propose using a new method for the rehabilitation of people who have suffered moderate to severe coronavirus.

The fact is that coronavirus infects the lungs, making them more susceptible to other infections, such as tuberculosis.

In a new study, experts focused on transporting iron, which pathogens need to survive. It is known that M. tuberculosis bacteria, which feed on iron from the body’s cells, cause tuberculosis.

To fight tuberculosis, drugs are created that deprive the bacterium of this food, blocking the disease. Our study showed that to transport iron from infected host cells to bacteria, the IrtAB transport protein is needed. If it is absent or not active, then the bacteria can no longer multiply, the authors of the study write.
If you block this protein, then the disease will not have a chance of development, scientists say. In the course of the study, scientists also found that such a regimen can help protect the lungs that are weak after coronavirus.