Researchers at NYU Langone Health in New York City found COVID-19 alone, and not the initial use of antibiotics, damages the gut microbiome.
The report, published Nov. 1 in Nature Communications, followed 96 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in 2020 in New York City and New Haven, Conn. Researchers found most patients had low gut microbiome diversity with a full quarter dominated by a single type of bacteria. In 20 percent of patients, antibiotic-resistant bacteria were found migrating into the bloodstream, making the patients more susceptible to secondary infection.
"Our findings suggest that coronavirus infection directly interferes with the healthy balance of microbes in the gut, further endangering patients in the process," study co-senior author Ken Cadwell, PhD, said. "Now that we have uncovered the source of this bacterial imbalance, physicians can better identify those patients with coronavirus who are most at risk of a secondary bloodstream infection."