Trends in Bacterial and Candida Infections Prior to and Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus resulted in significant global health consequences. The interventions introduced to limit the spread of the virus had a significant impact on the course of the pandemic but also might involve other pathogens besides SARS-CoV-2. This study investigates the epidemiological variations for major bacterial and common fungal pathogens represented by Candida species infection in Qatar through retrospective hospital records. Methods: Retrospective data was collected on all bacterial and Candida infections from Hamad General Hospital between January 2019-December, 2021. Statistical analyses were performed using R (Version 4.1.0). Infection count comparisons were performed using chi-square goodness of fit tests. Differences in patient numbers were tested with one-way ANOVA followed by post-hoc Tukey HSD. The number of infections and measures were correlated using Spearman rank correlation. The significance level was set at 0.05, and where applicable, the Holm-Bonferroni method was used to correct for multiple testing. Results: The general trend for bacterial and Candida infections showed a significant decrease (p < 0.05) following the imposed restrictions and increases during restriction lifting periods. The number of bacterial infections correlated with the number of international visitors (r= 0.61, p <0.01), while the number of Candida infections correlated with hospital admissions of COVID-19 patients (r=0.59, p = 0.013). Conclusions: The results provide a general overview of the infection trends in Qatar through the COVID-19 pandemic and illustrate some of the pandemic interventions' effects on bacterial and Candida infections. However, further research is needed to understand underlying trend dynamics better.