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A Theory On The Impact Of Copper And Micronutrients Against COVID-19 In Humans

A. Connor DAOM PGDip AMP EHP-C Caitlin ¹

1 Health Sciences Research, Rewley House, University of Oxford, UK.

2 Principle Investigator, Earthsongs Holistic Consulting.

Abstract

Copper (Cu) has a strong impact on the function of the immune system through several different pathways. These impacts include helping the function of monocytes, neutrophils, and macrophages, and enhancing Natural Killer cells activities. Cu also has a role in antimicrobial properties and inflammatory response. It is also important for IL-2 production and response, which is a component of adaptive immune cells. Additionally, Cu has multiple roles in both proliferation and differentiation of T cells and is involved in the production of antibodies. Cu deficiency can even lead to "increased viral virulence"1. Copper has a long history of use in medicine, and has continued to be used for purification of water, including use in hospitals to prevent legionnaires disease. The CDC pre released information on a study completed in March 2020 on the lifespan of COVID-19 on different surfaces which included its lifespan on copper, where it was completely dead within 4 hours. In addition, "Several reports demonstrated that Cu deficiency weakens the human immune response" 2. Given the multiple avenues of impact, it has been suggested that Cu supplementation, within recommended levels, be given to individuals who are low in Cu to help them fight off COVID-19. It is also possible that Cu supplementation, within recommended levels, may help prevent COVID-19 infection, or help individuals who are not low in Cu to fight off COVID-19 infection. However, dosage would have to be carefully managed, as excess levels of Cu can lead to both neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental diseases.

Author Contributions

Received Nov 08, 2021 Accepted Nov 18, 2021 Published Nov 27, 2021

Copyright© 2021 A. Connor DAOM PGDip AMP EHP-C Caitlin.
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Competing interests

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Funding Interests:

Citation:

A. Connor DAOM PGDip AMP EHP-C Caitlin (2021) A Theory On The Impact Of Copper And Micronutrients Against COVID-19 In Humans International Journal of Infection Prevention . - 1(3):1-8

DOI 10.14302/issn.2690-4837.ijip-21-4015

Introduction

The duality of copper is important to remember when investigating its effects on the human body. In excess, copper can cause severe negative health issues, which include "cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis, neurodegeneration, parkinsonian features, seizures, and psychiatric symptoms such as psychosis" 3. In contrast to these issues "...copper is fundamental to life as we know it, and that there can be no such life without copper" 4. A number of necessary processes in the human body are mediated by copper. Included in these are several aspects of immune function. Copper also has a long history of use as an antimicrobial agent, both internally and externally 5, including recent evidence of its impact on the length of survival of the COVID-19 virus on surfaces 6. While research on the impact of copper directly on SARS-CoV-2 is limited at this time, research on similar and related viruses can be used to guide theory. "Furthermore, in vitro studies show that copper ions block a fundamental protein for SARS-CoV-1 replication. Hence, copper has antiviral properties acting at two levels: enhancing the components of the immune system to fight against infections and by direct contact with virus" 7. This combination suggests that copper may help individuals who have been exposed to COVID-19 to fight off infection.

SARS-CoV-2

Coronaviridae are a family of viruses identified by their "contained RNA surrounded by a membrane composed of “spike”-shaped proteins" 8. "The crown-like appearance of these surface “spike” proteins gave the virus family the name - “corona” being Latin for crown" 8. One of these viruses, specifically SARS-CoV-2, was declared a pandemic by the WHO on March 11, 2020 8. SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins are used to attach to cells at the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor 8. This receptor is the same location used by SARS-CoV 8, suggesting that interventions that were successful against SARS-CoV infection might also work against SARS-CoV-2. Once SARS-CoV-2 has attached to a cell it "it integrates its RNA into the cell’s own replication machinery, facilitating propagation of the virus" 8. "Symptoms of the virus are similar to MERS and SARS, and include fever, cough, and shortness of breath", though COVID-19 has proven to be "significantly more infectious than SARS and MERS in terms of human-to-human transmission" 8. The difference between SARS and COVID in viral load at symptom development, meaning that COVID can be transmitted prior to symptom development, also makes it more difficult to contain 8.

International Journal of Infection Prevention