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Said KB, Alsolami A, Alshammari KF, Moussa S, Alshammeri F, Alghozwi MH, Alshammari SF, Alharbi NF, Khalifa AM, Mahmoud MR, Alshammari K, Ghoniem ME. The Rapidly Changing Patterns in Bacterial Co-Infections Reveal Peaks in Limited Gram Negatives during COVID-19 and Their Sharp Drop Post-Vaccination, Implying Potential Evolution of Co-Protection during Vaccine-Virus-Bacterial Interplay. Viruses 2024; 16:227. [PMID: 38400003 PMCID: PMC10893479 DOI: 10.3390/v16020227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2023] [Revised: 01/01/2024] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 has caused the most devastating pandemic of all time in recent human history. However, there is a serious paucity of high-quality data on aggravating factors and mechanisms of co-infection. This study aimed to identify the trending patterns of bacterial co-infections and types and associated outcomes in three phases of the pandemic. Using quality hospital data, we have investigated the SARS-CoV-2 fatality rates, profiles, and types of bacterial co-infections before, during, and after COVID-19 vaccination. Out of 389 isolates used in different aspects, 298 were examined before and during the pandemic (n = 149 before, n = 149 during). In this group, death rates were 32% during compared to only 7.4% before the pandemic with significant association (p-value = 0.000000075). However, the death rate was 34% in co-infected (n = 170) compared to non-co-infected patients (n = 128), indicating a highly significant value (p-value = 0.00000000000088). However, analysis of patients without other serious respiratory problems (n = 28) indicated that among the remaining 270 patients, death occurred in 30% of co-infected patients (n = 150) and only 0.8% of non-co-infected (n = 120) with a high significant p-value = 0.00000000076. The trending patterns of co-infections before, during, and after vaccination showed a significant decline in Staphylococcus aureus with concomitant peaks in Gram negatives n = 149 before/n = 149 during, including Klebsiella pneumonian = 11/49 before/during, E. coli n = 10/24, A. baumannii n = 8/25, Ps. aeruginosa n = 5/16, and S. aureus 13/1. Nevertheless, in the post-vaccination phase (n = 91), gender-specific co-infections were examined for potential differences in susceptibility. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus dominated both genders followed by E. coli in males and females, with the latter gender showing higher rates of isolations in both species. Klebsiella pneumoniae declined to third place in male patients. The drastic decline in K. pneumoniae and Gram negatives post-vaccination strongly implied a potential co-protection in vaccines. Future analysis would gain more insights into molecular mimicry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamaleldin B. Said
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology, College of Medicine, University of Ha’il, Ha’il 55476, Saudi Arabia
- Genomics, Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel-By Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada
| | - Ahmed Alsolami
- Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Ha’il, Ha’il 55476, Saudi Arabia
| | - Khalid F. Alshammari
- Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Ha’il, Ha’il 55476, Saudi Arabia
| | - Safia Moussa
- Department of Microbiology, King Salman Specialist Hospital, Ha’il 55476, Saudi Arabia (K.A.)
| | - Fawaz Alshammeri
- Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, University of Ha’il, Ha’il 55476, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohammed H. Alghozwi
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology, College of Medicine, University of Ha’il, Ha’il 55476, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sulaiman F. Alshammari
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology, College of Medicine, University of Ha’il, Ha’il 55476, Saudi Arabia
| | - Nawaf F. Alharbi
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology, College of Medicine, University of Ha’il, Ha’il 55476, Saudi Arabia
| | - Amany M. Khalifa
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology, College of Medicine, University of Ha’il, Ha’il 55476, Saudi Arabia
| | - Madiha R. Mahmoud
- Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Ha’il, Ha’il 55476, Saudi Arabia
| | - Kawthar Alshammari
- Department of Microbiology, King Salman Specialist Hospital, Ha’il 55476, Saudi Arabia (K.A.)
| | - Mohamed E. Ghoniem
- Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Ha’il, Ha’il 55476, Saudi Arabia
- Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt
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