Acute SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with an expansion of bacteria pathogens in the nose including Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Abstract

Much of the research conducted on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 has focused on the systemic host response, especially that generated by severely ill patients. Very few studies have investigated the impact of acute SARS-CoV-2 within the nasopharynx, the site of initial infection and viral replication. In this study we profiled changes in the nasal microbial communities as well as in host transcriptional profile during acute SARS-CoV-2 infection using 16S amplicon sequencing and RNA sequencing. These analyses were coupled to viral genome sequencing. Our microbiome analysis revealed that the nasal microbiome of COVID patients was unique and was marked by an expansion of bacterial pathogens. Some of these microbes (i.e. Acinetobacter) were shared with COVID negative health care providers from the same medical center but absent in COVID negative outpatients seeking care at the same institutions suggesting acquisition of nosocomial respiratory pathogens. Specifically, we report a distinct increase in the prevalence and abundance of the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa in COVID patients that correlated with viral RNA load. These data suggest that the inflammatory environment caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection and potentially exposure to the hospital environment leads to an expansion of bacterial pathogens in the nasal cavity that could contribute to increased incidence of secondary bacterial infections. Additionally, we observed a robust host transcriptional response in the nasal epithelia of COVID patients, indicative of an antiviral innate immune repones and neuronal damage. Finally, analysis of viral genomes did not reveal an association between viral loads and viral sequences.