Super Dominant Pathobiontic Bacteria in the Nasopharyngeal Microbiota Cause Secondary Bacterial Infection in COVID-19 Patients

• DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.01956-21
• Publication Date: 2022-05-17T13:05:55Z
• Authors: Tian Qin; Yajie Wang; Jianping Deng; BaoHong Xu; Xiong Zhu; Jitao Wang; Haijian Zhou; Na Zhao; Fangfang Jin; Hongyu Ren; Huizhu Wang; Qun Li; Xinmin Xu; Yumei Guo; Ruihong Li; Yanwen Xiong; XiaoXia Wang; Jiane Guo; Han Zheng; Xuexin Hou; Kanglin Wan; Jianzhong Zhang; Jinxing Lu; Biao Kan; Jianguo Xu
• Keywords: secondary bacterial infection; Immunology; Impact of COVID-19 on Dental Practice; Pathogenesis; Infectious disease (medical specialty); Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine; Microbiology; 03 medical and health sciences; Nasopharynx; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Management of Ventilator-associated Pneumonia in ICU Patients; Virology; Health Sciences; Genetics; Humans; Disease; General Dentistry; Biology; Internal medicine; 0303 health sciences; Bacteria; Coinfection; SARS-CoV-2; Microbiota; FOS: Clinical medicine; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2); Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health; COVID-19; Outbreak; Bacterial Infections; pathobiontic bacteria; QR1-502; 3. Good health; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Dentistry; FOS: Biological sciences; Medicine; 2019-20 coronavirus outbreak; Global Burden of Group A Streptococcal Diseases; nasopharyngeal microbiota; Research Article

The nasopharyngeal microbiota is composed of a variety of not only the true commensal bacterial species but also the two-face pathobionts, which are one a harmless commensal bacterial species and the other a highly invasive and deadly pathogen. In a previous study, we found that the diversity of nasopharyngeal microbiota was lost in severe influenza patients.