Use of RT-PCR in conjunction with a respiratory pathogen assay to concurrently determine the prevalence of bacteria and SARS-CoV-2 from the nasopharynx of outpatients

Use of RT-PCR in conjunction with a respiratory pathogen assay to concurrently determine the prevalence of bacteria and SARS-CoV-2 from the nasopharynx of outpatients

Blog Article

IntroductionCOVID-19 has emerged as a highly contagious and debilitating disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and has claimed the lives of over 7.7 million people worldwide.Bacterial co-infections are one of many co-morbidities that have been suggested to impact the outcome of COVID-19 in patients.

The goals of this study are to elucidate the presence of bacteria in the nasopharynx of SARS-CoV-2 positive and negative patients and to describe demographic categories that may be associated with the detection of these organisms during one of the initial waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsTo this end, we investigated SARS-CoV-2 and bacterial co-detection from outpatient RT-PCR testing in Texas.ResultsThe 2.5" Strip (Jelly Roll) Patterns results indicate that Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Moraxella catarrhalis, and Haemophilus influenzae were the most frequently detected bacteria in both SARS-CoV-2 positive and SARS-CoV-2 negative patients and that these bacteria were present in these two patient populations at similar proportions.

We also detected Staphylococcus aureus in a significantly larger proportion of males relative to females and people under 65 years of age relative to those 65 and over.Finally, we observed that SARS-CoV-2 was more commonly detected in Hispanics compared to non-Hispanics; however, low disclosure rates make volunteer bias a concern when interpreting the effects of demographic variables.DiscussionThis study describes the bacteria present in the nasopharynx of SARS-CoV-2 positive and negative patients, highlights associations between patient demographics and SARS-CoV-2 as well as bacterial co-detection.

In addition, Jeans this study highlights RT-PCR based molecular testing as a tool to detect bacteria simultaneously when SARS-CoV-2 tests are performed.