Altered oral and gut microbiota and its association with SARS-CoV-2 viral load in COVID-19 patients during hospitalization.

ABSTRACT: The human oral and gut commensal microbes play vital roles in the development and maintenance of immune homeostasis, while its association with susceptibility and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection is barely understood. In this study, we investigated the dynamics of the oral and intestinal flora before and after the clearance of SARS-CoV-2 in 53 COVID-19 patients, and then examined their microbiome alterations in comparison to 76 healthy individuals. A total of 140 throat swab samples and 81 fecal samples from these COVID-19 patients during hospitalization, and 44 throat swab samples and 32 fecal samples from sex and age-matched healthy individuals were collected and then subjected to 16S rRNA sequencing and viral load inspection. We found that SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with altera

SUBMITTER: Wu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8298611 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature