SuprBay: The PirateBay Forum

Full Version: Change of dominant strain during dual SARS-CoV-2 infection: Medical research
You're currently viewing a stripped down version of our content. View the full version with proper formatting.
Abstract

Background: The effect of SARS-CoV-2 mutations and viral load on the severity of COVID-19 is not well understood. The possibility of reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 has already been reported, but dual infection with SARS-CoV-2 is poorly described and is currently under discussion. We describe a study of two strains of SARS-CoV-2 detected in the same patient during the same disease presentation. Methods: Two nasopharyngeal swabs were obtained eight days apart from the patient in their 90s, diagnosed with lobar pneumonia (J18.1). Both tests were positive for SARS-CoV-2 with high viral load (Ct = 13). We have performed high-throughput sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 genomes from both swabs. 

Findings: Genomic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 revealed the presence of two genetically distant strains in both swabs. Detected strains belong to different phylogenetic clades (GH and GR) and differ in the seven nucleotide positions. The relative abundance of strains was 70% (GH) and 30% (GR) in the first swab, and 3% (GH) and 97% (GR). 

Interpretation: Our findings suggest that the patient was infected by two genetically distinct SARS-CoV-2 strains at the same time. One of the possible explanations is that the second infection occurred in the hospital. Change of the dominant strain ratio during disease manifestation could be explained by the advantage or higher virulence of the strain belonging to the clade GR.



https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/...20238402v1