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Identification and characterisation of SARS-CoV-2 and Human alphaherpesvirus 1 from a productive coinfection in a fatal COVID-19 case

BACKGROUND: During routine Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) diagnosis, an unusually high viral load was detected by reverse transcription real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in a nasopharyngeal swab sample collected from a patient with respiratory and neurological symptoms who rapidly s...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Herlinger, Alice Laschuk, Monteiro, Fábio Luís Lima, D’arc, Mirela, Moreira, Filipe Romero Rebello, Westgarth, Harrison James, Galliez, Rafael Mello, Mariani, Diana, da Costa, Luciana Jesus, de Almeida, Luiz Gonzaga Paula, Voloch, Carolina Moreira, Melo, Adriana Suely de Oliveira, de Aguiar, Renato Santana, dos Santos, André Felipe Andrade, Castiñeiras, Terezinha Marta Pereira Pinto, de Vasconcelos, Ana Tereza Ribeiro, João, Esaú Custódio, Escosteguy, Claudia Caminha, Ferreira, Orlando da Costa, Tanuri, Amilcar, Higa, Luiza Mendonça
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8752051/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35019069
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0074-02760210176
Descripción
Sumario:BACKGROUND: During routine Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) diagnosis, an unusually high viral load was detected by reverse transcription real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in a nasopharyngeal swab sample collected from a patient with respiratory and neurological symptoms who rapidly succumbed to the disease. Therefore we sought to characterise the infection. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to determine and characterise the etiological agent responsible for the poor outcome. METHODS: Classical virological methods, such as plaque assay and plaque reduction neutralisation test combined with amplicon-based sequencing, as well as a viral metagenomic approach, were performed to characterise the etiological agents of the infection. FINDINGS: Plaque assay revealed two distinct plaque phenotypes, suggesting either the presence of two severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) strains or a productive coinfection of two different species of virus. Amplicon-based sequencing did not support the presence of any SARS-CoV-2 genetic variants that would explain the high viral load and suggested the presence of a single SARS-CoV-2 strain. Nonetheless, the viral metagenomic analysis revealed that Coronaviridae and Herpesviridae were the predominant virus families within the sample. This finding was confirmed by a plaque reduction neutralisation test and PCR. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: We characterised a productive coinfection of SARS-CoV-2 and Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) in a patient with severe symptoms that succumbed to the disease. Although we cannot establish the causal relationship between the coinfection and the severity of the clinical case, this work serves as a warning for future studies focused on the interplay between SARS-CoV-2 and HSV-1 coinfection and COVID-19 severity.