Can We Treat Long COVID With Bacteria?

The secret to healing long COVID may start with the bacteria in your gut

3D illustration of the bacterium Lactobacillus, a probiotic bacterium. Shutterstock

Could your gut bacteria hold the key to beating long COVID? You may be surprised by the close link between COVID-19 and your microbiome.

Summary of Key Facts

• Long COVID has no effective interventions.
• Patients with long COVID have a significantly altered oral, respiratory, and gut microbiome.
• Gut microbiota plays a crucial role in human health, and an altered microbiota is associated with many diseases and disorders.
• A treatment method to stabilize or normalize the microbiome in long-COVID patients shows promise in relieving symptoms.

In the United States alone, over 102 million people have been infected with COVID-19. The extent of their symptoms ranges from asymptomatic to severe illness that leads to death. Some may have recovered in as little as a day, but nearly 20 percent of previously or currently infected adults in the United States suffer from what is known as “long COVID.”

Long COVID, better known as post-acute COVID-19 syndrome, includes persistent symptoms including “brain fog,” anxiety, depression, and fatigue. The condition is thought to be linked to immune dysregulation by harmful inflammation, but the exact causes are unknown, making the prognosis and treatment similarly challenging.