Detection of clinically relevant respiratory viruses and their temporal dynamics in sputum of tuberculosis patients on anti-TB drugs at Naguru Hospital, Kampala, Uganda

Abstract

Background Tuberculosis is one of the leading infectious causes of death in the world, with nearly 10 million new cases diagnosed each year, resulting into an estimated 1.3 million deaths(1). The relationship between M. tuberculosis and viral co-infections enhances mortality especially in areas where Tuberculosis disease is a burden(2). Viral co-infections with Mycobacterium tuberculosis may play a role in the onset, presentation, and progression of Pulmonary Tuberculosis (PTB) in patients by interfering with the host's immune response(3). We determined the clinically important respiratory pathogenic viruses commonly coinfecting TB patients in Uganda and their temporal changes in samples from TB patients on Anti-TB drugs. Method: In a longitudinal comparative study with sputum samples collected from patients enrolled in an earlier study, 25 patients were followed up for 4 months. Viral pathogens were then detected using Illumina Respiratory Pathogen ID/AMR Enrichment Panel Kit. Results: Of the 25 samples selected, 20% were living with HIV, 44% male.14 respiratory viruses were detected all together at all time points, The most frequently detected viruses included, Epstein Bar Virus (EBV) (16%) of samples at baseline, 37.5% at month 2 and 48% at month 4. Multiple viruses were detected in (8%) of the samples and these persisted over time. Some of the viruses detected were incident or had resolved by follow-up month 4 after detection. Conclusion: We found that respiratory viruses were detected at all study time points and some persisted over time. Although the diversity of these viruses does not change over time