Pneumonia Caused by Chlamydia psittaci and SARS-CoV-2 Coinfection Diagnosed Using Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing: A Case Report

Anbing Zhang; Jinguang Liang; Xiaoli Lao; Xiuqiong Xia; Jianping Liang

doi:10.2147/IMCRJ.S458131

Pneumonia Caused by Chlamydia psittaci and SARS-CoV-2 Coinfection Diagnosed Using Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing: A Case Report

Int Med Case Rep J. 2024 Mar 21:17:187-194. doi: 10.2147/IMCRJ.S458131. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Anbing Zhang^#¹, Jinguang Liang^#², Xiaoli Lao^{1

3}, Xiuqiong Xia¹, Jianping Liang^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Zhongshan People's Hospital, Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.
² Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Zhongshan Huangpu People's Hospital, Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.
³ Graduate School, Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

We report a case of pneumonia caused by coinfection with Chlamydia psittaci and the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron XBB.1 variant, confirmed using metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). C. psittaci and SARS-CoV-2 were detected in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid using mNGS. Additionally, mNGS detected C. psittaci in blood and nasopharyngeal specimens and was more sensitive than qPCR. The patient recovered after treatment with moxifloxacin. This report highlights the use of coinfections of C. psittaci and SARS-CoV-2, as mNGS has already been recognized to be a diagnostic tool for identifying coinfections.

Keywords: bronchoalveolar lavage fluid; coinfection; quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction; zoonoses.

Publication types

Case Reports

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Science and Technology Plan Project of Zhongshan under grant number 2020B1113.