tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Clin Infect Dis
. 2020 Nov 20;ciaa1747.
doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa1747. Online ahead of print.
Co-infection by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus enhances the severity of pneumonia in golden Syrian hamsters
Anna Jinxia Zhang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Andrew Chak-Yiu Lee[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jasper Fuk-Woo Chan[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP], Feifei Liu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Can Li[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yanxia Chen[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Hin Chu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Siu-Ying Lau[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Pui Wang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Chris Chung-Sing Chan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Vincent Kwok-Man Poon[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Shuofeng Yuan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Kelvin Kai-Wang To[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP], Honglin Chen[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Kwok-Yung Yuen[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Background: Clinical outcomes of the interaction between the co-circulating pandemic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and seasonal influenza viruses are unknown.
Methods: We established a golden Syrian hamster model co-infected by SARS-CoV-2 and mouse-adapted A(H1N1)pdm09 simultaneously or sequentially. The weight loss, clinical scores, histopathological changes, viral load and titer, and serum neutralizing antibody titre were compared with hamsters challenged by either virus.
Results: Co-infected hamsters had more weight loss, more severe lung inflammatory damage and tissue cytokine/chemokine expression. Lung viral load, infectious virus titers and virus antigen expression suggested that hamsters were generally more susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 than A(H1N1)pdm09. Sequential co-infection with A(H1N1)pdm09 one day prior to SARS-CoV-2 exposure resulted in a lower lung SARS-CoV-2 titer and viral load than with SARS-CoV-2 infection alone, but a higher lung A(H1N1)pdm09 viral load. Co-infection also increased intestinal inflammation with more SARS-CoV-2 nucleoprotein expression in enterocytes. Simultaneous co-infection was associated with delay in resolution of lung damages, lower serum SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody and longer SARS-CoV-2 shedding in oral swabs compared to that of SARS-CoV-2 infection alone.
Conclusions: Simultaneous or sequential co-infection by SARS-CoV-2 and A(H1N1)pdm09 caused more severe disease than infection by either virus in hamsters. Prior A(H1N1)pdm09 infection lowered SARS-CoV-2 pulmonary viral loads but enhanced lung damage. Whole-population influenza vaccination for prevention of co-infection, and multiplex molecular diagnostics for both viruses to achieve early initiation of antiviral treatment for improvement of clinical outcome should be considered.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; co-infection; coronavirus; influenza.
. 2020 Nov 20;ciaa1747.
doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa1747. Online ahead of print.
Co-infection by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus enhances the severity of pneumonia in golden Syrian hamsters
Anna Jinxia Zhang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Andrew Chak-Yiu Lee[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jasper Fuk-Woo Chan[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP], Feifei Liu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Can Li[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yanxia Chen[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Hin Chu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Siu-Ying Lau[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Pui Wang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Chris Chung-Sing Chan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Vincent Kwok-Man Poon[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Shuofeng Yuan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Kelvin Kai-Wang To[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP], Honglin Chen[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Kwok-Yung Yuen[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 33216851
- DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciaa1747
Abstract
Background: Clinical outcomes of the interaction between the co-circulating pandemic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and seasonal influenza viruses are unknown.
Methods: We established a golden Syrian hamster model co-infected by SARS-CoV-2 and mouse-adapted A(H1N1)pdm09 simultaneously or sequentially. The weight loss, clinical scores, histopathological changes, viral load and titer, and serum neutralizing antibody titre were compared with hamsters challenged by either virus.
Results: Co-infected hamsters had more weight loss, more severe lung inflammatory damage and tissue cytokine/chemokine expression. Lung viral load, infectious virus titers and virus antigen expression suggested that hamsters were generally more susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 than A(H1N1)pdm09. Sequential co-infection with A(H1N1)pdm09 one day prior to SARS-CoV-2 exposure resulted in a lower lung SARS-CoV-2 titer and viral load than with SARS-CoV-2 infection alone, but a higher lung A(H1N1)pdm09 viral load. Co-infection also increased intestinal inflammation with more SARS-CoV-2 nucleoprotein expression in enterocytes. Simultaneous co-infection was associated with delay in resolution of lung damages, lower serum SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody and longer SARS-CoV-2 shedding in oral swabs compared to that of SARS-CoV-2 infection alone.
Conclusions: Simultaneous or sequential co-infection by SARS-CoV-2 and A(H1N1)pdm09 caused more severe disease than infection by either virus in hamsters. Prior A(H1N1)pdm09 infection lowered SARS-CoV-2 pulmonary viral loads but enhanced lung damage. Whole-population influenza vaccination for prevention of co-infection, and multiplex molecular diagnostics for both viruses to achieve early initiation of antiviral treatment for improvement of clinical outcome should be considered.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; co-infection; coronavirus; influenza.