Co-infection of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus causes more severe and prolonged pneumonia in hamsters.
Sci Rep
; 11(1): 21259, 2021 10 28.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1493217
ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is currently a serious public health concern worldwide. Notably, co-infection with other pathogens may worsen the severity of COVID-19 symptoms and increase fatality. Here, we show that co-infection with influenza A virus (IAV) causes more severe body weight loss and more severe and prolonged pneumonia in SARS-CoV-2-infected hamsters. Each virus can efficiently spread in the lungs without interference by the other. However, in immunohistochemical analyses, SARS-CoV-2 and IAV were not detected at the same sites in the respiratory organs of co-infected hamsters, suggesting that either the two viruses may have different cell tropisms in vivo or each virus may inhibit the infection and/or growth of the other within a cell or adjacent areas in the organs. Furthermore, a significant increase in IL-6 was detected in the sera of hamsters co-infected with SARS-CoV-2 and IAV at 7 and 10 days post-infection, suggesting that IL-6 may be involved in the increased severity of pneumonia. Our results strongly suggest that IAV co-infection with SARS-CoV-2 can have serious health risks and increased caution should be applied in such cases.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Orthomyxoviridae Infections
/
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Prognostic study
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Animals
/
Female
/
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Sci Rep
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S41598-021-00809-2
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