Altered Gut Microbiome in Children with MIS-C and Previous COVID-19 Infection

April 29, 2022

A recent study was conducted by a team of researchers in Turkey looking at the composition and diversity of gut microbiota in children who had been diagnosed with multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) and COVID-19. “MIS-C is a condition where different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs…many children with MIS-C had the virus that causes COVID-19, or had been around someone with COVID-19.” (CDC)

The team is in the process of publishing their findings in the Research Square, and wrote that they “observed changes of diversity, richness, and composition of intestinal microbiota in MIS-C cases than in COVID-19 cases and in the healthy controls.” More specifically, the substantial changes included:

“(1) reduction of F. prausnitzii in children with MIS-C and COVID-19,

(2) an increase of Eggerthella lenta which is related with autoimmunity;

(3) the predominance of E. dolichum is associated with metabolic dysfunctions and obesity in children with MIS-C.”