Nasopharyngeal Microbiome Community Composition and Structure Is Associated with Severity of COVID-19 Disease and Breathing Treatment

Abstract

Viral infections are known to modulate the upper respiratory tract microbiome, but few studies have addressed differences in the nasopharyngeal microbiome following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Using nasopharyngeal swab medical waste samples from 79 confirmed SARS-CoV-2 positive and 20 SARS-CoV-2 negative patients, we assessed microbiome composition with metagenomic sequencing. COVID-19 status and breathing assistive device use was associated with differences in beta diversity, principal component analyses, community composition and abundance of several species. Serratia more frequently appeared in COVID-19 patient samples compared to negative patient samples, and Serratia, Streptococcus, Enterobacter, Veillonella, Prevotella, and Rothia appeared more frequently in samples of those who used breathing assistive devices. Smoking and age were associated with differences in alpha diversity. Cross-sectional differences in the microbiome were apparent with SARS-CoV-2 infection, but longitudinal studies are needed to understand the dynamics of viral and breathing treatment modulation of microbes.