pathogenic bacteria throughout the previous several decades.
This has resulted in the extinction of drug-susceptible species while simultaneously increasing the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant ones. The severity of COVID-19 has also been associated with changes in the ratio of gut microorganisms.
The research was headed by scientists from the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. There were 96 men and women studied, all of whom were hospitalized in New York City and New Haven, Connecticut, due to complications with COVID-19 in the year 2020.
Patients were found to have gut microbiomes that were low in variety overall, with one species of bacterium dominating in 25% of cases. Simultaneously, the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms increased—a possible explanation: widespread usage of antibiotics at the outbreak’s outset.
Twenty percent of patients had these antibiotic-resistant bacteria in their blood, and twenty percent had them in their intestines. The study’s authors note that additional investigation is required to determine why this subset of the population was at increased risk for a second infection while the general population was spared.
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Other Infections
Disease in one may have far-reaching effects on the other. Dr. Jonas Schluter, an assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology at NYU Langone and a member of the Institute for Systems Genetics, and the study’s primary author, says.
“Our findings illustrate how tightly the gut microbiota and various aspects of the immune system are related.” Schluter cautions that the study’s limitations lie in its inability to rule out all potential causes of the microbiome disruption that contributed to the patients’ deterioration in health, given the wide variety of therapies they received.
Is the gut microbiome altered by coronavirus infection, or does an impaired microbiome leave the body more vulnerable to infection?
It seems that the latest research backs the first interpretation. Scientists claim they now know the order of events for the first time. The current research confirms previous findings that antibiotic-resistant organisms may enter the circulation, putting patients at risk for potentially fatal secondary infections.
“Our results show how closely connected the gut microbiome and different parts of the immune system are. When one gets sick, it can cause big problems in the other,” Schluter notes.