Dynamic of SARS-CoV-2 spread in Bulgaria, 2020-2022

Authors

  • Iveta Madzharova National Reference Laboratory “Influenza and ARD”, National Centre of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Sofia Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1965-7550
  • Ivelina Tifonova National Reference Laboratory “Influenza and ARD”, National Centre of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases Author
  • Veselin Dobrinov National Reference Laboratory “Influenza and ARD”, National Centre of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Sofia Author
  • Iliyana Grigorova National Reference Laboratory “Influenza and ARD”, National Centre of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Sofia Author
  • Ivailo Alexiev National Reference Laboratory “Influenza and ARD”, National Centre of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Sofia Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3186-1124
  • Lubomira Grigorova National Reference Laboratory “Influenza and ARD”, National Centre of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Sofia Author
  • Reneta Dimitrova National Reference Laboratory “Influenza and ARD”, National Centre of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Sofia Author https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7711-6798
  • Ivan Ivanov National Reference Laboratory “Influenza and ARD”, National Centre of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Sofia Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2616-894X
  • Ivan Stoikov National Reference Laboratory “Influenza and ARD”, National Centre of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Sofia Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9924-8553
  • Deyan Donchev National Reference Laboratory “Influenza and ARD”, National Centre of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Sofia Author https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7447-7627
  • Neli Korsun National Reference Laboratory “Influenza and ARD”, National Centre of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Sofia Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58395/68gqp351

Keywords:

SARS-CoV-2, respiratory viruses, COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is associated with high morbidity and significant mortality worldwide. The objective of this study was to track the circulation pattern of SARS-CoV-2 in Bulgaria over three consecutive years (2020-2022) and to analyze the involvement of SARS-CoV-2 in cases of co-infections. A total of 98 247 clinical samples were tested for SARS-CoV-2 using a Real-Time RT-PCR method and 25.2% of them were positive. The positive rate for SARS-CoV-2 was greater among hospitalized patients compared to outpatients (p<0.05). Approximately 48.3% of all SARS-CoV-2-positive cases were male and 51.7% were female (p<0.05). SARS-CoV-2 positivity was highest in the group of oldest adults (≥65 years) (average 40.6%), and lowest in the group of youngest children (0-5 years) (average 9.4%). Several peaks in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infections were observed. Among the 1 463 SARS-CoV-2 positive clinical samples examined for the presence of other respiratory viruses, 109 (7.5%) cases of co-infections were found. The greatest variety of co-infections with SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses was detected during the Omicron wave. Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 is important to continue in the future in order not to miss the emergence of new genetic variants with increased infectivity, virulence or immune escape.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Wang C, Horby PW, Hayden FG, ey al. A novel coronavirus outbreak of global health concern. 2020; Lancet, 395:470–473. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30185-9

WHO. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard. Available from https://covid19.who.int/

Flores-Vega VR, Monroy-Molina JV, Jiménez-Hernández LE, et al. SARS-CoV-2: Evolution and Emergence of New Viral Variants. Viruses. 2022;14(4):653. https://doi.org/10.3390/v14040653

NCIPD. Graphical analysis of data from the National Information System for COVID-19, Bulgaria [in Bulgarian]. Available from https://covid19.ncipd.org/

Corman VM, Landt O, Kaiser M, et al. Detection of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) by real-time RT-PCR. Euro Surveill. 2020; 25(3): 2000045. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917

Kodani M, Yang G, Conklin LM, et al. Application of TaqMan Low-Density Arrays for Simultaneous Detection of Multiple Respiratory Pathogens. J Clin Microbiol. 2011;49(6):2175-2182. https://doi.org/10.1128/JCM.02270-10

Dare RK, Fry AM, Chittaganpitch M, et al. Human coronavirus infections in rural Thailand: a comprehensive study using real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction assays. J Infect Dis. 2007;196(9):1321-8. https://doi.org/10.1086/521308

ECDC. SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern as of 9 February 2023 (europa.eu)

Wiersinga WJ, Rhodes A, Cheng AC, et al. Pathophysiology, Transmission, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A Review. JAMA. 2020;324(8):782-793. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.12839

Yang Y, Xiao Z, Ye K, et al. SARS-CoV-2: characteristics and current advances in research. Virol J. 2020;17(1):117. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12985-020-01369-z

Hoffmann C, Wolf E. Older age groups and country‑specific case fatality rates of COVID‑19 in Europe, USA, and Canada. Infection. 2021. 49:111–116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-020-01538-w

Friedman N, Alter H, Hindiyeh M, et al. Human Coronavirus Infections in Israel: Epidemiology, Clinical Symptoms and Summer Seasonality of HCoV-HKU1. Viruses. 2018; 10(10):515. https://doi.org/10.3390/v10100515

Li J, Lai S, Gao GF, et al. The emergence, genomic diversity, and global spread of SARS-CoV-2. Nature. 2021; 600 (7889):408-418. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-04188-6

Korsun N, Angelova S, Trifonova I, et al. Viral pathogens associated with acute lower respiratory tract infections in children younger than 5 years of age in Bulgaria. Braz J Microbiol. 2019;50(1):117-125. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42770-018-0033-2

Trifonova I, Angelova S, Korsun N. Aetiologic structure of acute respiratory tract infections among children younger than 5 years in Bulgaria. Probl Infect Parasit Dis, 2019;47(1):9-15. https://doi.org/10.58395/pipd.v47i1.11

Aggarwal N, Potdar V, Vijay N, et al. SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza Virus Co-Infection Cases Identified through ILI/SARI Sentinel Surveillance: A Pan-India Report. Viruses. 2022;14(3):627. https://doi.org/10.3390/v14030627

Alhumaid S, Al Mutair A, Al Alawi Z, et al. Coinfections with Bacteria, Fungi, and Respiratory Viruses in Patients with SARS-CoV-2: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Pathogens. 2021; 10(7):809. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10070809

WHO. End-to-end integration of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza sentinel surveillance. 2022

Downloads

Published

2023-08-14

Issue

Vol. 51 No. 1 (2023)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Iveta Madzharova, Ivelina Tifonova, Veselin Dobrinov, Iliyana Grigorova, Ivailo Alexiev, Lubomira Grigorova, Reneta Dimitrova, Ivan Ivanov, Ivan Stoikov, Deyan Donchev, Neli Korsun (Author)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

CC-BY 4.0

How to Cite

(1)
Madzharova, I.; Tifonova, I.; Dobrinov, V.; Grigorova, I.; Alexiev, I.; Grigorova, L.; Dimitrova, R.; Ivanov, I.; Stoikov, I.; Donchev, D.; Korsun, N. Dynamic of SARS-CoV-2 Spread in Bulgaria, 2020-2022. Probl Infect Parasit Dis 2023, 51 (1), 5-10. https://doi.org/10.58395/68gqp351.

Most read articles by the same author(s)

<< < 1 2