Cholesterol-lowering drugs such as statins and ezetimibe may be helpful in fighting infectious diseases, including typhoid, chlamydia, and malaria. This is reported by experts from Duke University (USA).

According to them, statins reduce the risk of contracting these diseases.. A study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that some people are more likely to contract typhoid fever due to a mutation in the VAC14 gene.. This mutation causes an increase in cholesterol levels.. This, in turn, facilitates the invasion of the bacterium Salmonella Typhi (the causative agent of typhoid fever) into human cells..

The researchers also found that cholesterol-lowering drugs protected zebrafish from Salmonella Typhi.. More research is needed to see if statins can actually be used to fight infectious diseases, scientists say..

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that nearly 21 million people worldwide develop typhoid fever every year and 222,000 people die from the disease..

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