An observational study into the effect of COVID-19 on the oral microbiome has found that severe cases led to a drop in oral microbiome diversity.
Published in eBioMedicine this July, the study found that while mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 were found to have little impact, severe cases resulted in a significant reduction in oral microbiome diversity. Bacteria in the mouth are thought to play an important role in immunity.
The research was conducted by a team led by Abigail Armstrong at the Rutgers Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine.
Discussing the study on Rutgershealth.com, Armstrong considered the findings to be positive for most people who contract COVID-19.
She said: ‘This means that major events like serious illness and treatments are needed to change this resilient microbiome, and that’s a good thing for the average COVID case, which is usually mild.’
Continued impact of COVID-19
This comes as both new COVID-19 infections and ongoing long COVID cases continue to significantly affect the UK population.
Two new COVID-19 variants have recently caused an increase in UK cases. UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) statistics recorded 1,153 COVID-19 cases on 21 August 2023. This has risen from 444 on 21 July.
The Independent reported that new variant, Eris, makes up one in four new COVID-19 cases. UKHSA also confirmed that the rapidly-spreading Pirola variant had been detected in the UK.
The Office for National Statistics estimated that two million people were living with long COVID at the beginning of 2023.
Another study from the universities of Oxford and Leicester has recently provided insight into the causes of long COVID. Researchers found that blood clots in the brain or lungs could explain ongoing symptoms such as brain fog.
Speaking to the BBC about their findings, the researchers stressed that this was just ‘the first piece in the puzzle’ that is long COVID.
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