Global Human Threat: The Potential Synergism between Mercury Intoxication and COVID-19.

ABSTRACT: The COVID-19 pandemic affected billions of people worldwide, and exposure to toxic metals has emerged as an important risk factor for COVID-19 severity. Mercury is currently ranked as the third toxic substance of global concern for human health, and its emissions to the atmosphere have increased globally. Both COVID-19 and mercury exposure present a high prevalence in similar regions: East and Southeast Asia, South America and Sub-Saharan Africa. Since both factors represent a multiorgan threat, a possible synergism could be exacerbating health injuries. Here, we discuss key aspects in mercury intoxication and SARS-CoV-2 infection, describing the similarities shared in clinical manifestations (especially neurological and cardiovascular outcomes), molecular mechanisms (with a hypothesis in

SUBMITTER: Arrifano GP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10001942 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature