'Unappreciated' Ties Between COVID and Gut Dysbiosis

[Thelle]

The SARS-CoV-2 infection disrupts the normal mix of gut bacteria, allowing harmful bacteria to enter the bloodstream and raising the risk for potentially life-threatening secondary bloodstream infections (BSIs), new research suggests. Collectively, these results reveal an unappreciated link between SARS-CoV-2 infection, gut microbiome dysbiosis, and a severe complication of COVID-19, BSIs

[dovie]

@thelle In a mouse model, the researchers first demonstrated that the SARS-CoV-2 infection alone induces gut microbiome dysbiosis and gut epithelial cell alterations, which correlate with markers of gut barrier permeability. Next, they analyzed the bacterial composition of stool samples from 96 adults hospitalized with COVID-19 in 2020 in New York City and New Haven, Connecticut.
In line with their observations in mice, they found that the SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with "severe microbiome injury," characterized by the loss of gut microbiome diversity.