Infection with the pandemic virus, SARS-CoV-2, can reduce the number of bacterial species in a patient’s gut, with the lesser diversity creating space for dangerous microbes to thrive, a new study finds.
Infection with the pandemic virus, SARS-CoV-2, can reduce the number of bacterial species in a patient’s gut, with the lesser diversity creating space for dangerous microbes to thrive, a new study finds.
The study builds on the realization that widespread use of antibiotics to fight infections with disease-causing bacteria in recent decades, by killing off species most vulnerable to available drugs, has left in place more species that are resistant to antibiotics. In addition, disruptions in gut bacterial ratios have previously been linked to more severe COVID-19.
However, researchers say, it has remained unclear until now which came first, the coronavirus infection disrupting the gut microbiome or an already weakened gut making the body more vulnerable to the virus. The new study appears to favor the former explanation. The new investigation also revealed that antibiotic-resistant species can escape into the bloodstream, putting patients at greater risk for life-threatening secondary infections.
Read more at NYU Langone Health / NYU Grossman School of Medicine
