Health

The covid-19 virus affects our gut – but we still don't know how

The coronavirus commonly causes gastrointestinal symptoms, but whether this is due to inflammation, disruption to our microbiome or the virus affecting the permeability of our gut wall is unclear

By Michael Marshall

3 May 2023

A scanning electron micrograph of the delta SARS-CoV-2 variant (pink dots) budding from a human gut cell — A scanning electron micrograph of the delta SARS-CoV-2 variant (blue dots) budding from a human gut cell
STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

As the first wave of cases of the coronavirus swept the world in early 2020, gastroenterologist Siew Ng at the Chinese University of Hong Kong was expecting the impact of the virus to extend beyond the body’s airways. She and her colleagues vividly remembered the SARS coronavirus outbreak of 2003, giving them some notion of what to expect from SARS-CoV-2. In particular, they anticipated that many people would develop gut problems.

As these early cases emerged, Ng and…