AU - Rashid, Golsoom AU - Zareei, Faeghe AU - Mohseni, Shokrollah AU - Madani, Abdolhossein AU - Soleimani-Ahmadi, Moussa AU - Alebrahim, Zahra AU - Sanei-Dehkordi, Alireza TI - Malaria Endemicity Effect on Incidence and Mortality Rate of COVID-19 in Some Malaria-Endemic Regions of Iran; An Ecological Study (2020-21) PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE TA - JOHE JN - JOHE VO - 10 VI - 3 IP - 3 4099 - http://johe.rums.ac.ir/article-1-474-en.html 4100 - http://johe.rums.ac.ir/article-1-474-en.pdf SO - JOHE 3 ABĀ  - Background: According to recent reports during the COVID-19 pandemic, malaria-endemic regions have a significantly lower COVID-19 case and mortality rate than those malaria-non-endemic. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of COVID-19 in malarious areas of southern Iran and the incidence of disease in people previously infected with malaria. Materials and Methods: We conducted an ecological study during the Covid-19 epidemic period in a malaria-endemic area, Hormozgan province, by including all critically ill patients with Covid-19 admitted to hospitals in different counties. The malaria cases were matched in the Covid patient's list. Also, the cumulative incidence and mortality rate of the Covid-19 were calculated in all counties. Results: The results show that malaria-endemic regions have a lower cumulative incidence and mortality rate than the others. Moreover, it was found that people with a history of malaria were not infected with Covid 19. Conclusion: It seems that malaria endemicity may positively affect the lower incidence and mortality rate of COVID-19 in malaria-endemic regions. However, further studies must be carried out to confirm the hypothesis that malaria reduces the risk of Covid-19 in other parts of the world. CP - IRAN IN - LG - eng PB - JOHE PG - 169 PT - Original Article YR - 2021