Identification of Bacterial Coinfection in SARS-CoV-2 Infected patients, by High Resolution Melting

  1. Carolaine Totelote Medeiros Pimenta Rodrigues
  2. Emanuelle de Souza Ramalho Ferreira da Silva
  3. Débora Ribeiro de Souza Santos
  4. Ana Carolina Carvalho de Oliveira
  5. Letícia Gouveia da Silva
  6. Sarah Ribeiro Fernandes de Sousa
  7. Karla Regina da Silva Gram
  8. Aline Dias de Almeida
  9. Marco Aurélio Pereira Horta
  10. Ivano de Filippis
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Abstract

This study aimed to detect bacterial pathogens in suspected SARS-CoV-2 cases using qPCR-HRM. We analyzed 166 positive and 188 negative upper airway samples collected from patients with Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) via qPCR-HRM, confirmed by Sanger sequencing. Results identified Streptococcus pneumoniae (31.3%), Haemophilus influenzae (21.7%), and Mycoplasma pneumoniae (7.6%) as prevalent pathogens, with simultaneous detection of two bacterial pathogens occurring in 14.4% of cases. The qPCR-HRM method exhibited high sensitivity, enabling identification based on target gene melting temperatures. Notably, 55.2% of critically ill patients harbored at least one bacterial pathogen, suggesting its role in exacerbating Covid-19 severity. Implementing qPCR-HRM in reference labs and public hospitals for rapid and cost-effective pathogen identification, could broad proactive measures to contain outbreaks and mitigate the burden of ARI on healthcare systems. Understanding the significance of bacterial co-infections in exacerbating Covid-19 severity informs clinical management strategies, emphasizing comprehensive diagnostic approaches and tailored treatment regimens, thus contributing to broader efforts to combat infectious diseases.

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  1. Version published to 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6753452/v1 on Research Square