Nasopharyngeal virome analysis of COVID-19 patients during three different waves in Campania region of Italy

From December 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has spread rapidly, leading to a global pandemic. Little is known about possible relationships between SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses in the respiratory system affecting patient prognosis and outcomes. This study aims to characterize respiratory virome profiles in association with SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease severity, through the analysis in 89 nasopharyngeal swabs collected in a patient's cohort from the Campania region (Southern Italy). Results show coinfections with viral species belonging to Coronaviridae, Retroviridae, Herpesviridae, Poxviridae, Pneumoviridae, Pandoraviridae, and Anelloviridae families and only 2% of the cases (2/89) identified respiratory viruses.

Automated summary

This study aims to investigate the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 infection and other respiratory viruses, as well as their impact on patient prognosis and outcomes. The results indicate that a small percentage of patients had co-infections with other respiratory viruses.