Covid alters paediatric gut microbiome, study finds

Abstract Lactobacillus Bulgaricus. Credit: Getty/ koto_feja

By Olivia Bowthorpe

Children experiencing long Covid may have an altered gut microbiome, a study of bacterial diversity and composition has suggested.

"It may be possible to better identify post-acute Covid-19 syndrome (PACS) in the paediatric population through microbiome profiling, and utilise microbial therapeutics to ameliorate persistent symptoms," said researchers, led by Mickayla Bacorn, intramural research trainee at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, US.