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The coronavirus mainly affects the respiratory tract, the symptoms include cough or difficulty breathing. However, the long-term effects of COVID-19 infection are seen very often in the digestive system. Studies show that SARS-CoV-2 virus particles can be found in the gut even seven months after recovery.
- Long COVID-19, i.e. long-term symptoms of coronavirus infection, may affect 10-80 percent. infected people
- There are many symptoms, some of them concern the digestive system
- Another study recently published shows that the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the gut persists for several months after the infection has passed.
- More information can be found on the Onet homepage
Corona virus a gelita
COVID-19 has been described as a respiratory disease. It primarily attacks the lungs, and coughing is one of the most common symptoms. However, the infection affects many organs and systems of the human body, and the symptoms include: vomiting or diarrhea.
Therefore, in addition to many studies focusing on the respiratory tract, scientists also looked at the effects of the coronavirus on the intestines. As it turned out?
– We found that people who already had a respiratory tract infection, i.e. no longer tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in the respiratory system, continued to excrete SARS-CoV-2 RNA in their stools, says the author of one of the research, published in April in the journal “Med” by prof. Ami Bhatt, specialist in genetics at Stanford University. “These people most often experience gastrointestinal symptoms,” she added.
Long COVID could be a consequence of the continued immune response to SARS-CoV-2, explains Bhatt. But it could also be the case that some people experience long-term infections because they hide in places other than the respiratory tract, such as the digestive tract.
Long COVID can be seen in the digestive system
Long COVID-19 is otherwise the long-term symptoms of coronavirus infection. It affects both those who required hospitalization for the coronavirus and those who passed the infection asymptomatically or relatively mildly. It can last up to six months after contracting the infection, although, according to more and more doctors, it can last for years. Some symptoms can be extremely devastating to the body.
The unequivocal causes of this phenomenon are still unknown. The scale also varies depending on the different studies. Long COVID is said to occur in 10% of people. people who have suffered from the coronavirus, some scientists’ reports indicate that this affects a third of those infected, and there are also studies that say that 80 percent.
Based on his research, Bhatt theorizes that long COVID-19 is caused by the remains of the original infection still remaining in the intestines, which he describes as the “ghosts” of the coronavirus.
– SARS-CoV-2 can stay in the gut and other tissues for much longer than the airways. There, long after the infection has passed, the virus can irritate our immune system and cause long-term consequences, he explains.
SARS-CoV-2 stays in the digestive system for a long time
Another study, conducted last year and published in the journal Nature, found that virus particles were found in the lining of the digestive tract for four months after recovery.
Two weeks after the publication of the Bhatt team’s research, the results of the research conducted by scientists from Innsbruck appeared in the journal Gastroenterology. They found SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the intestinal mucosa of patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) up to seven months after being diagnosed with COVID-19 infection.
“ Our findings show that in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases, SARS-CoV-2 virus antigens, but not infectious virions, persist in the intestinal mucosa for much longer than the viruses themselves in mild COVID-19, the study authors explain. – The persistence of the antigen occurs for another seven months in 52-70% of patients. patients with inflammatory bowel diseases. This means that the SARS-CoV-2 virus has not been completely removed. We are not dealing with a subclinical (latent or permanent) infection in this case because we have not been able to replicate the virus from the biopsy tissue, they add.
The gut is a key part of our immune system. However, in order to find a clear relationship between them and the effects of coronavirus infection – as the authors of all the aforementioned studies emphasize – much more research is needed.
“And this research is not easy,” says Bhatt.
Make a test package for convalescents and check the condition of your body after the disease
We encourage you to listen to the latest episode of the RESET podcast. This time we devote it to the diet. Do you have to stick to it 100% to stay healthy and feel good? Do you really have to start every day with breakfast? What is it like with sipping meals and eating fruit? Listen: