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The gut bacteria of a coronavirus patient can influence the duration and severity of their infection and their immune response to it, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that patients with Covid-19 were depleted of gut bacteria known to alter a person’s immune response, and that depletion appeared to persist for 30 days after the virus was gone.
Gut bacteria – or gut microbiome – help digest food. But more and more research is showing that gut bacteria also affect our health.
A team of researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong investigated whether the variety and amount of microbiome played a role in Covid-19 infections.
Researchers analyzed the blood, stools and medical records of 100 patients with Covid-19. They also took samples from 78 people who did not have the disease.
The study, published in the journal Intestine, found that the composition of the gut microbiome changed in Covid-19 patients, compared to those who did not have the infection.
He said the gut microbiome could be involved in “the extent of the severity of Covid-19 possibly via modulation of host immune responses.”
Meanwhile, analysis of blood samples showed that the intestinal imbalance found in Covid-19 patients was also associated with elevated blood levels of some of the molecules that mediate inflammation.
This suggests, according to the researchers, that the gut microbiome could influence the immune system’s response to Covid-19 infection and potentially affect the severity and outcome of the disease.
Commenting on the study, Daniel Davis, professor of immunology at the University of Manchester, said: “Our knowledge of gut microbes has exploded in recent years.
“Variations have been linked to diseases as diverse as asthma, multiple sclerosis and cancer.
“So maybe it’s not all that surprising that the severity of Covid-19 also correlates with the makeup of a person’s microbiome.
“But the details here are important. One particularly striking finding was that distinct characteristics of a person’s gut microbes persisted after the virus was cleared.
“It is possible that these changes are contributing to the symptoms of the so-called long Covid.
“At the moment, this idea is still speculative, but it requires further investigation.
“Overall, this new research does not yet lead to a clear public health message in terms of treatments or therapies, but sets the stage for an extremely important area of new science.”
Professor Neil Mabbott, Personal Chairman of Immunopathology at the Roslin Institute and the Royal School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh, said: “This is an interesting study but many important questions remain. .
“Further studies are needed to determine whether these changes in the gut microbiome directly affect the severity of Covid-19 in patients, or if they are simply a consequence of the effects of the infection on the gut and the immune system.
“It is also not certain whether these differences were present in Covid-19 patients before they succumbed to the infection, and whether similar changes are seen in patients from other geographic regions.”
Additional reports from the Press Association
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