CHARACTERIZATION OF INTESTINAL MICROBIOTA COMPOSITION IN POST-COVID INDIVIDUALS

COVID-19, a disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been affecting individuals worldwide since 2020. Although the pulmonary system is the main system affected, individuals with COVID-19 also develop gastrointestinal, psychiatric, and neurological symptoms. In addition, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors, the binding site of the virus to infect the cell, are found in gut and brain cells, suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 would be able to affect the nervous and gastrointestinal systems and cause changes in the gut microbiota. The temporal correlation between psychiatric, neurological, and gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with COVID-19 suggests that the gut-microbiota-brain axis may also be involved in the pathogenesis of the disease and may be related to such symptoms.