HEALTH-AFFAIRS

Volume 7 Issue 1

Polymicrobial Infections in the Immunocompromised Host: The COVID-19 Realm and Beyond

Eibhlin Higgins,Aanchal Gupta andNathan W. Cummins

Division of Public Health, Infectious Diseases and Occupational Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55902, USA
 
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Abstract

Immunosuppression changes both susceptibility to and presentation of infection. Infection with one pathogen can also alter host response to a different, unrelated pathogen. These interactions have been seen across multiple infection domains where bacteria, viruses or fungi act synergistically with a deleterious impact on the host. This phenomenon has been well described with bacterial and fungal infections complicating influenza and is of particular interest in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Modulation of the immune system is a crucial part of successful solid organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Herein, we present three cases of polymicrobial infection in transplant recipients. These case examples highlight complex host–pathogen interactions and the resultant clinical syndromes.
Keywords: transplant infectious diseasesimmunocompromised hostCOVID-19polymicrobial infection
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