The impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the prevalence of respiratory tract pathogens in patients with community-acquired pneumonia in Germany

Theo Dähne; Wolfgang Bauer; Andreas Essig; Bernhard Schaaf; Christoph D Spinner; Mathias W Pletz; Gernot Rohde; Jan Rupp; Martin Witzenrath; Marcus Panning; Members of the CAPNETZ study group

doi:10.1080/22221751.2021.1957402

The impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the prevalence of respiratory tract pathogens in patients with community-acquired pneumonia in Germany

Emerg Microbes Infect. 2021 Dec;10(1):1515-1518. doi: 10.1080/22221751.2021.1957402.

Authors

Theo Dähne¹, Wolfgang Bauer², Andreas Essig³, Bernhard Schaaf⁴, Christoph D Spinner⁵, Mathias W Pletz^{6

7}, Gernot Rohde^{7

8

9}, Jan Rupp^{7

10}, Martin Witzenrath^{7

11

12}, Marcus Panning¹; Members of the CAPNETZ study group

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Virology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
² Department of Emergency Medicine, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.
³ Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University Hospital of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
⁴ Hospital Dortmund gGmbH, Dortmund, Germany.
⁵ Department of Internal Medicine II, University Hospital rechts der Isar, School of Medicine, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany.
⁶ Institute of Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Jena University Hospital / Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany.
⁷ CAPNETZ Stiftung, Hannover, Germany.
⁸ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Medical Clinic I, Goethe University Hospital, Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
⁹ Biomedical Research in Endstage and Obstructive Lung Disease Hannover (BREATH), German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Hannover, Germany.
¹⁰ Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Lübeck, Germany.
¹¹ Department of Infectious Diseases and Pulmonary Medicine and the Division of Pulmonary Inflammation, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.
¹² Associate Member of the DZL.

Abstract

We show a shift in the prevalence of respiratory viral pathogens in community-acquired pneumonia patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our data support the efficiency of non-pharmaceutical interventions on virus circulation except for rhinoviruses. The consequences of an altered circulation on subsequent winter seasons remain unclear and support the importance of systematic virological surveillance.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; community-acquired pneumonia; molecular methods; prospective study; viral pathogens.

Publication types

Letter
Multicenter Study

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
Bacteria / classification
Bacteria / genetics
Bacteria / isolation & purification
COVID-19 / epidemiology*
COVID-19 / virology
Community-Acquired Infections / epidemiology*
Community-Acquired Infections / microbiology
Community-Acquired Infections / virology
Female
Germany / epidemiology
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Pandemics
Pneumonia / epidemiology*
Pneumonia / microbiology
Pneumonia / virology
Prevalence
Prospective Studies
Respiratory Tract Infections / epidemiology*
Respiratory Tract Infections / microbiology
Respiratory Tract Infections / virology
SARS-CoV-2 / genetics
SARS-CoV-2 / physiology
Viruses / classification
Viruses / genetics
Viruses / isolation & purification
Young Adult

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants to CAPNETZ FKZ 82DZL00204 and 82DZL002B4 (PROVID).