A case study of fungal diversity and virulence factors in COVID-19 patients at Al-Muthanna Hospital in Iraq | ||||
| Microbial Biosystems | ||||
| Volume 9, Issue 1, June 2024, Page 160-167 PDF (284.28 K) | ||||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/mb.2024.373294 | ||||
 View on SCiNiTO | ||||
| Authors | ||||
Huda R. Hashim  ; Wissam J. Kazem; Ali K. Kadom
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| Department of Biology, College of Basic Education, University of Al-Muthanna, Iraq. | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| This study examined the presence and diversity of fungal taxa in the eyes and noses of COVID-19 patients. We collected sixty samples from COVID-19 patients and recovered about 30 fungal isolates. Six species of fungi were identified as Aspergillus niger (40%), A. flavus (23.33%), A. parasiticus (13.33%), Alternaria alternata (10%), Fusarium oxysporum (10%), and Candida albicans (3.33%), respectively. We initially isolated A. niger from the pulmonary system. Its virulence factors were more prominent than those of other taxa isolated from the eyes, suggesting a significant risk to the patients. We studied the serum immunoglobulin (IgG and IgM) levels of COVID-19 patients and controls. The results showed that a week after infection, the IgG level was 12.74 AU/ml, significantly higher than the healthy control, which ranged from 12–15 AU/ml for negative and 0.73 for positive. During the first week of infection, IgM reached 3.1 AU/ml, and in the fourth week, IgG rose to 53.63 AU/ml, whereas IgM levels fell to 0.73. These findings provide valuable information on COVID-19 patients' immune responses and how they evolve over time. Our study also compared COVID-19 patients' WBC levels to those of the control group. The median was 40, with 10% of patients having low WBC counts and 50% having high ones. Lymphocyte counts differed significantly between 47.5% (low count) and 17.5% (high count). Patients had normal neutrophil counts, with 5% having low counts and 45% having high counts, like the control group. Monocyte, eosinophil, and basophil counts were likewise similar to those in the control group. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| Aspergillus niger; co-infections; fungal pathogens; immunocompromised patients; pandemic; virulence factors | ||||
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