Researchers Investigate Link Between COVID-19 Severity and Gut Bacteria

First-of-its-kind research recently examined the link between the severity of COVID-19 and the gut microbiome. The investigational study proposed, specific microbial patterns associated with infection severity, as well as those microbial imbalances, may be responsible for some occurrences of "long COVID."

According to a New Atlas report, a growing body of research discovers a link between humans' immune systems and the massive population of microbes living in the intestines, which is called the gut microbiome.

The said report specified such associations suggest humans' microbiome may affect or be affected by inflammatory activity in the body. More so, such a relationship could play a vital role in everything from "depression and obesity to Alzheimer's disease."

In light of these recent discoveries of the microbiome, it is realistic to wonder the kind of impact gut microbes have on, probably the greatest acute health problem of this time, and COVID-19 "may present with novel gut microbiome signature."

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(Photo: Edward Jenner on Pexels)
The study showing a link between COVID-19 severity and gut bacteria looked at blood and stool samples from a hundred patients confined at a hospital compared to more than 75 healthy control subjects.

Unique Bacterial Compositions

The research found COVID-19 patients reported with distinctive bacterial compositions compared to those with influenza and healthy regulations.

Another small initial research, examining a cohort of only 15, proposed there may be indications microbiome alterations correlate with severity of COVID-19.

This new study, which the BMJ journal Gut, provides a more detailed evaluation to date into the link between COVID-19 severity and gut microbiome, as well as the general biomarkers of inflammation.

The study looked at blood and stool samples from a hundred patients confined at a hospital compared to more than 75 healthy control subjects.

This research found substantial microbial differences between the control subjects and COVID-19 patients. Species, which include Bifidobacterium adolescentis, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, and Eubacterium rectale, which have formerly presented to play a vital role in immune system activity, were all observed in remarkably lower volumes in COVID-19 patients.

Furthermore, as indicated in the study, COVID-29 patients exhibited extraordinarily higher volumes as well of microbial species, including "Ruminococcus gnavus, Ruminococcus torques, and Bacteroides dorie."

Disrupted Microbiome Signatures

A smaller subset of COVID-19 patients in the research was followed for up to one month from recovery and discharge from hospital, disclosing the disrupted microbiome signatures appeared to persist outside the phase of acute illness.

One hypothesis that the researchers raised proposed that microbiome disruptions could play a vital role in the lingering symptoms may COVID-19 patients experience in the months from contagions.

It is essential to note that these study findings are just introductory and cannot further understand causality.

It remains unclear, for instance, whether these specific patients with the said illness had irregular microbiome signatures before the viral infection.

It is unclear, too, if these microbiome signatures directly impact the disease's severity or are simply a consequence of it.

Study Authors' Conclusion

Probably, the most fascinating hypothesis to come out of this initial investigation is the suggestion that some kind of personalized microbiome treatment could be a useful therapy for patients who follow the said infection's acute phase.

The study investigations concluded that the dysbiotic gut microbiota that persists following disease resolution "could be a factor in developing persistent symptoms and, or multi-system inflammation syndromes" that take place in some patients following the clearing of the virus.

The study also indicated that strengthening of gut species exhausted in COVID-19 could function as a novel opportunity to alleviate severe illness, highlighting the essentiality of managing the gut microbial of a patient during and after COVID-10.

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