According to new research, the bacteria lurking in the intestines of COVID-19 patients may play a role in their illness.
Scientists at the Chinese University of Hong Kong say that although the coronavirus is mainly a respiratory disease, there is growing evidence that it involves the gastrointestinal tract.
They said: “According to several patients surveyed in this study for up to 30 days after SARS-CoV-2 was cleared, the intestinal flora is likely to still change significantly after recovery from COVID-19.” (iStock )
The research team studied samples of 100 patients treated in two hospitals in Hong Kong to understand how the so-called microbiome in the digestive system affects the recovery of deadly bacteria.
They wrote in the journal Gut, published by the British Medical Journal: “Compared with non-COVID-19 patients, the composition of the gut microbiome of COVID-19 patients has changed significantly, regardless of whether the patient receives medication or not. .”
They said: “According to several patients surveyed in this study for up to 30 days after SARS-CoV-2 was cleared, the gut microbiota is likely to still undergo significant changes after recovery from COVID-19.”
The researchers said that patients with severe diseases showed high levels of plasma inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory markers, and given that the composition of the intestinal flora infected with SARS-CoV-2 has changed, the gastrointestinal tract during infection ” A lot of participation”.
Cytokines are molecules that enable your cells to talk to each other and play a vital role in healthy immune function. However, too much cytokine will cause the so-called “cytokine storm”.
They wrote: “These results indicate that the composition of the intestinal flora is related to the strength of the immune response to COVID-19 and subsequent tissue damage, and therefore may play a role in regulating the severity of the disease.”
Scientists also discovered that since a small percentage of patients show imbalance or imbalance of intestinal flora even 30 days after recovery, this may be a potential explanation for why certain symptoms persist in the so-called long COVID.
This article originally appeared on NYPost.com.
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