Targeting the Gut Microbiota in Coronavirus Disease 2019: Hype or Hope?
Harry Cheuk-Hay Lau, Siew C. Ng, Jun Yu
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an acute respiratory illness caused by novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been a terrible worldwide pandemic since December 2019. As of late August 2021, over 210 million people have contracted COVID-19, with over 4.4 million deaths globally (see https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html). Typical presentations of this infection include fever, cough, fatigue, pneumonia, and loss of taste or smell.1 Although relatively less common than respiratory symptoms, gastrointestinal symptoms including anorexia, diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal discomfort occur in about 18% of COVID-19 patients.
Topics & Concepts
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)CoronavirusGut flora2019-20 coronavirus outbreakSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)Coronavirus InfectionsDiseaseVirologyMicrobiologyMedicineBiologyImmunologyInfectious disease (medical specialty)Internal medicineOutbreakClostridium difficile and Clostridium perfringens researchGut microbiota and healthCOVID-19 Clinical Research Studies