Although COVID-19 is primarily a respiratory illness, there is mounting evidence suggesting that the GI tract is involved in this disease. We found altered gut microbiome and showed that depletion of immunomodulatory gut microorganisms may contribute to severe COVID-19 disease. The dysbiotic gut microbiota that persists after disease resolution could be a factor in developing persistent symptoms and/or multisystem inflammation syndromes that occur in some patients after clearing the virus. Bolstering of beneficial gut species depleted in COVID-19 could serve as a novel avenue to mitigate severe disease, underscoring importance of managing patients’ gut microbiota during and after COVID-19. In this talk, I will discuss the evidence of involvement of SARS-CoV-2 in the gut, the role play by gut microbiota and COVID-19 severity, and modulation of microbiota for prevention, treatment and vaccine response in COVID-19.

References:
1. T Zuo ….SC Ng, Alterations in Gut Microbiota of Patients With COVID-19 During Time of Hospitalization. Gastroenterology 2020
2. YK Yeoh, T Zuo,..SC Ng, Gut Microbiota Composition Reflects Disease Severity and Dysfunctional Immune Responses in Covid-19 Patients. Gut 2020.
3. T Zuo, ..SC Ng. Depicting SARS-CoV-2 faecal viral activity in association with gut microbiota composition in patients with COVID-19. Gut 2020.
4. SC Ng and H Tilg. COVID-19 and the gastrointestinal tract: more than meets the eye. Gut 2020.