Journal
VIROLOGY JOURNAL
Volume 19, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
BMC
DOI: 10.1186/s12985-022-01828-9
Keywords
SARS-CoV-2 infection; Herpesvirus; Neurological manifestations
Categories
Funding
- Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior-Brasil (CAPES) [001]
- Fundacao Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ)
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq)
- Oswaldo Cruz Institute
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This study found a high prevalence of herpesvirus in patients with COVID-19, and coinfection of SARS-CoV-2 and HHV was associated with neurological symptoms, but not with poorer outcomes.
Background Certain clinical manifestations of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) mimic those associated with human herpesvirus (HHV) infection. In this study, we estimated the prevalence of herpesvirus in patients with COVID-19 and determined if coinfection is associated with poorer outcomes and neurological symptoms. Methods We analyzed samples of 53 patients diagnosed with COVID-19. The samples were evaluated for the presence of alphaherpesviruses, betaherpesviruses, and gammaherpesviruses, and the viral loads were quantified using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method. Results Among the patients, in 79.2% had detection at least one type of herpesvirus. HHV-6 (47.2%), cytomegalovirus (43.3%), and HHV-7 (39.6%) showed the highest detection rates. Patients with a high severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) load were more likely to show herpes simplex virus 1 detection (p = 0.037). Among patients coinfected with SARS-CoV-2 and HHVs, 26.4% showed central nervous system-associated neurological symptoms and herpetic manifestations. A statistically significant association was observed between neurological changes and HHV-6 detection (p = 0.034). Conclusions The findings showed a high prevalence of herpesvirus in patients with COVID-19. Furthermore, even though SARS-CoV-2 and HHV coinfection was not associated with poorer outcomes, the findings demonstrated the association between neurological symptoms and HHV-6 detection.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available