Is there a link between disrupted gut bacteria and long Covid? Here’s what a study says

Many people affected Covid-19 have reported symptoms of long Covid that include muscle weakness, fatigue, and insomnia. The condition is also known as post-acute Covid syndrome (PACS).
now, it has been established that Covid is not only a respiratory infection; the virus also affects other organs in the body. Shedding more light on the same, a new study has now confirmed the role of gut microbiome on immunity and overall health, also adding that there may be a link between gut disruption or gut dysbiosis and long covid

Published in the journal Gut, the study The Center for Gut Microbiota Research found what has been referred to as the “first evidence of gut dysbiosis in people with long Covid up to six months after their initial SARS-CoV-2 infection”.
As part of the study, researchers conducted a prospective analysis of 106 patients with a spectrum of Covid-19 severity followed up from admission to six months and 68 non-Covid-19 controls. ‘We analysed serial faecal microbiome of 258 samples using shotgun metagenomic sequencing, and correlated the results with persent symptoms at six months,’ the research noted.

The results indicated that at six months, 76 per cent of patients had PACS and the most common symptoms were fatigue, poor memory and hair loss. “Gut microbiota composition at admission was associated with occurrence of PACS. Patients without PACS showed recovered gut microbiome profile at six months comparable to that of non-Covid-19 controls. Gut microbiome of patients with PACS were characterised higher levels of Ruminococcus gnavus, Bacteroides vulgatus and lower levels of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii,” it read.
The study noted that the findings provided observational evidence of compositional alterations of gut microbiome in patients with long-term complications of Covid-19. Further studies should investigate whether microbiota modulation can facilitate timely recovery from PACS.
How does gut health matter in Covid? (Source: Pixabay)
As Covid 19 remains a multisytem disease, experts note that it affects the gastrointestinal system. “Associations between gut microbiota composition, levels of cytokines, and inflammatory markers in patients with Covid-19 suggest that the gut microbiome is involved in the magnitude of covid severity — possibly via modulating host immune responses,” said Dr Rakesh Rajpurohit MD, consultant pulmonolog, critical care medicine at Jain Multi Speciality Hospital, Mira Road.
Explaining further, Dr Ashit Bhagwati, honorary consultant, Internal Medicine and Honorary Academic Director ICU, Bhatia Hospital Mumbai mentioned that bacteria in the gut is a protective mechanism, and in long Covid patients, prolonged antibiotic therapy affects the microbial flora of the intestine.
“Overuse of antibiotics cause damage to the intestinal mucosal lining. To counter the damage, appropriate therapeutic treatment like probiotic, lactose-free diet is recommended to restore the gut flora, review the use of antibiotics to gut-friendly antibiotics as required so that stool binding becomes easier and healing takes place,” said Dr Bhagwati.
Dr Rajpurohit further said that irrespective of antibiotic use, “the gut flora imbalance occurring after the disease resolution could contribute to persent symptoms in patients”.
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