Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 in people with cystic fibrosis in Europe between February and June 2020
Lutz Naehrlich, Annalisa Orenti, Fiona Dunlevy, Irena Kasmi, Satenik Harutyunyan, Andreas Pfleger, Svetlana Keegan, Géraldine Daneau, Guergana Petrova, Duška Tješić-Drinković, Panayiotis Yiallouros, Alena Bílková, Hanne Vebert Olesen, Pierre‐Régis Burgel, Tsitsino Parulava, Filia Diamantea, Andrea Párniczky, Edward F. McKone, Meir Mei‐Zahav, Marco Salvatore, Carla Colombo, Elīna Aleksejeva, Kęstutis Malakauskas, Marc Schlesser, Stojka Fustik, O. Turcu, Domenique D. Zomer-van Ommen, A.S. Wathne, Łukasz Woźniacki, L. Pereira, Liviu Pop, N. Kashirskaya, Milan Rodić, H. Kayserová, Uro Krivecs, Pedro Mondéjar-López, Isabelle de Monestrol, Deni̇z Doğru, Halyna Makukh, Rebecca Cosgriff, Silke van Koningsbruggen‐Rietschel, Andreas Jung, Vladimir Bobrovnichy, Ivan Bambir, Andrea Dugac Vukić, Pavel Dřevı́nek, Milan Maçek, Harriet Corvol, Lydie Lemonnier-Videau, Elpis Hatziagorou, G. Fletcher, Rita Padoan, Vincent Gulmans, Egil Bakkeheim, E. Kondratyeva, E. Amelina, E. Zhekaite, О. И. Симонова, María Dolores Pastor‐Vivero, Anders Lindblad, Yasemi̇n Gökdemi̇r, Sevgi Pekcan, K. Brownlee, Elliot McClenaghan, S.B. Carr, Elise Lammertyn, Anna Zolin, Alice Marie Fox, M. Krasnyk, J. van Rens
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Viral infections can cause significant morbidity in cystic fibrosis (CF). The current Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic could therefore have a serious impact on the health of people with CF (pwCF). METHODS: We used the 38-country European Cystic Fibrosis Society Patient Registry (ECFSPR) to collect case data about pwCF and SARS-CoV-2 infection. RESULTS: Up to 30 June 2020, 16 countries reported 130 SARS-CoV-2 cases in people with CF, yielding an incidence of 2.70/1000 pwCF. Incidence was higher in lung-transplanted patients (n=23) versus non-transplanted patients (n=107) (8.43 versus 2.36 cases/1000). Incidence was higher in pwCF versus the age-matched general population in the age groups <15, 15-24, and 25-49 years (p<0.001), with similar trends for pwCF with and without lung transplant. Compared to the general population, pwCF (regardless of transplantation status) had significantly higher rates of admission to hospital for all age groups with available data, and higher rates of intensive care, although not statistically significant. Most pwCF recovered (96.2%), however 5 died, of whom 3 were lung transplant recipients. The case fatality rate for pwCF (3.85%, 95% CI: 1.26-8.75) was non-significantly lower than that of the general population (7.46%; p=0.133). CONCLUSIONS: SARS-CoV-2 infection can result in severe illness and death for pwCF, even for younger patients and especially for lung transplant recipients. PwCF should continue to shield from infection and should be prioritized for vaccination.