Respiratory Viral Co‐Infections in SARS‐CoV‐2 Positive Patients in Burkina Faso: A Cross‐Sectional Study

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Résumé

Background: The burden of viral co‐infections among COVID‐19 patients is underexplored in low‐resource settings such as
Burkina Faso. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of respiratory viral co‐infections among
laboratory‐confirmed COVID‐19 patients.
Methods: A cross‐sectional study was conducted from January 1 to December 31, 2023, across 13 sentinel sites in Burkina Faso.
Patients presenting with influenza‐like illness or severe acute respiratory infection had nasopharyngeal and/or oropharyngeal
swabs collected and tested for SARS‐CoV‐2 and other respiratory viruses using multiplex real‐time RT‐PCR. Descriptive
statistics, univariate, and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify predictors of viral co‐infections.
Results: Among 201 SARS‐CoV‐2‐positive patients enrolled (median age: 1 year; interquartile range: 0.5–7). Co‐infections was
identified in 48.8% (95% CI: 41.8–55.6) of cases and a single co‐infections was detected in 33.8% (95% CI: 27.5–40.6) of patients.
Human rhinovirus (17.9%), adenovirus (14.4%), respiratory syncytial virus (11.4%), and influenza A/B (9.9%) were most fre
quently detected. In multivariate analysis, children aged 6 months to 14 years had higher odds of co‐infection (aOR 2.7; 95%
CI: 1.2–5.9; p = 0.013). Fever (aOR 2.6; 95% CI: 1.3–5.5; p = 0.008) and hospitalization (aOR 4.3; 95% CI: 1.6–12.0; p = 0.005)
were also independently associated with co‐infection.
Conclusion: Viral co‐infections were frequent among SARS‐CoV‐2 positive patients, particularly in children and hospitalized
individuals. Strengthening multiplex diagnostic capacity and integrated respiratory virus surveillance in resource‐limited set
tings may improve clinical management and inform public health response strategies.

Mots-clés

Burkina Faso, respiratory viruses, SARS‐CoV‐2, viral co‐infection