Could certain strains of gut bacteria play a role in the prevention and potential treatment of COVID-19 infections?

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). As of January 22, 2020, a total of 571 cases of the COVID-19 have been reported in 25 provinces (districts and cities) in China and the coronavirus has spread out in many countries and endangers thousands of lives, worldwide since its outbreak in China. It causes respiratory illness in people but at present, there are no medicines or specific treatment for the disease. Two anti-HIV protease inhibitors, lopinavir, and ritonavir are recommended for the treatment of the disease and a hospital in Wuhan has started a clinical trial using a combination of two drugs that had been tested on MERS patients in Saudi Arabia. The pandemic has also speeded up the development of novel coronavirus vaccines by pharmaceutical companies and research organizations in the United States. Traditional Chinese Medicines are also among the various options for the treatment of the disease like Chloroquine that is an anti-malaria medicine (Am J Transl Med 2020. 4:70-74).