MONITORING OF RESPIRATORY VIRUS COINFECTION IN SOUTHERN BRAZIL DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC (preprint)

Since December 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has reached approximately 769 million people, leading to more than 7 million deaths worldwide. Faced with the possible presence of other respiratory pathogens that could co-infect and modify the clinical response of patients detected for SARS-CoV-2, some researchers have explored this line of investigation. The relationship between these co-infections remains unclear, leading to a need to deepen our knowledge about interactions among pathogens, and between pathogens and the host. Thus, the present study employed RT-qPCR to assess the presence of Human Adenovirus (HAdV), Influenza A (Flu A), Influenza B (Flu B), Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV), Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), Human Rhinovirus (HRV), and Parainfluenza Virus (PIV). A total of 187 nasopharyngeal samples from adult patients exhibiting respiratory symptoms were collected between February 2021 and November 2022 at the University Hospital Polydoro Ernani de Sao Thiago in Florianopolis, SC, Brazil. Our findings revealed that 25.16% of samples tested positive for non-SARS-CoV-2 respiratory viruses (29.8% - HRV, 5.3% - PIV, 4.3%-RSV, and 1.1% - HMPV). From the 74.84% of SARS-CoV-2 positive patients, the presence of co-infection was observed in 9,7% of patients, with 7.5% being HRV, 1.1% HAdV and 1.1% Flu A. Since co-infections can potentially alter patient prognoses and impact local epidemiological dynamics, this study highlights the significance of ongoing monitoring and epidemiological assessment through genomic surveillance of other clinically relevant respiratory pathogens.

The emergence of two distinct SARS-CoV-2 Gamma related variants during the second wave of COVID-19 in Santa Catarina, Southern Brazil and the rapid spread of P.1-like-II SARS-CoV-2 variant transmission and a regionalization in the Western region (preprint)

COVID-19 has assumed significant and lasting proportions worldwide. Following initial cases in the Western mesoregion, the State of Santa Catarina (SC), southern Brazil, was heavily affected as a whole by the pandemic in early 2021. This study aimed to evaluate the dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreading patterns in the SC state through March 2020 to April 2021 using genomic surveillance. During this period, 23 distinct variants, including two VOCs (Beta and Gamma) were identified, among which, the Gamma and related lineages were predominant in the second pandemic wave within SC. However, a regionalization of P.1-like-II in the Western region was observed, concomitant to the increase in cases, mortality, and case fatality rate (CFR) index. This is the first evidence of the regionalization of the SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the and highlight the importance of tracking variants, dispersion and their impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the public health system in Brazilian states.

SARS-CoV-2 in human sewage in Santa Catalina, Brazil, November 2019 (preprint)

We analysed human sewage located in Florianopolis (Santa Catalina, Brazil) from late October until the Brazil lockdown on early March. We detected SARS-CoV-2 in two samples collected independently on 27th November 2019 (5.49{+/-}0.02 log genome copies/L). Subsequent samplings were positive until 4th March 2020 (coinciding with the first COVID-19 case reported in Santa Catalina), with a SARS-CoV-2 RNA increase of one log (6.68{+/-}0.02 log genome copies/L). Our results show that SARS-CoV-2 has been circulating in Brazil since late November 2019, much earlier than the first reported case in the Americas (21st January 2020, USA).