It was suggested that the intestinal microbial imbalance may be a factor that severely worsens the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19).
Kim Hee-nam, a professor at the Department of Biosystems and Medical Sciences at Korea University, revealed on the 13th that as a result of analyzing research papers accumulated during the corona 19 epidemic over the past year, the intestinal microbial imbalance and the resulting intestinal leakage appear to negatively affect the prognosis of Corona 19.
The opinion was published in the’PERSPECTIVE’ column of’mBio’, an international academic journal published by the American Microbiological Society (ASM).
Professor Kim estimates that the intestinal health deteriorates as the intestinal microbial balance is disrupted, and at this time, the virus accesses the epidermis and internal organs of the intestine, leading to the severe progression of Corona 19 infection.
It is an opinion that weakening of the barrier function due to the imbalance of intestinal microflora can exacerbate the corona 19 infection by causing intestinal leakage.
In the medical community, it is believed that the intestinal microbial flora called microbiome has a great influence on human physiology and immunity.
It is already well known that when the balance between microorganisms is broken, such as reducing beneficial bacteria in the intestine and increasing number of pathogenic harmful bacteria, it causes various chronic diseases.
Professor Kim explained, “This is because the intestinal microbial imbalance can affect the homeostasis of the intestine, and this allows the Corona 19 virus to access the cells of the lining of the intestine and, in severe cases, pass through the intestinal wall and penetrate into the blood.”
At the same time, it revealed that domestic and foreign research results suggest a link between intestinal health and the corona19 prognosis.
Professor Kim said, “It is reported that there is a high probability that corona 19 infection will lead to severe disease when suffering from chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, etc., but all of them have unhealthy gut microbes.
“In recent studies, in the case of COVID-19 patients, the intestinal microbial diversity tended to decrease, such as decreasing beneficial bacteria in the intestine and increasing pathogenic bacteria,” he said. “It is necessary to understand the mechanism linking corona 19 infection with intestinal microbes.” did.
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