Association of gut microbiota with inflammatory bowel disease and COVID-19 severity: A possible outcome of the altered immune response

Inflammatory bowel disease could be induced by SARS-CoV-2, involved in alteration of gut microbiota during the respiratory viral infection. Presence of viral RNA in fecal samples for longer period, even after the clearance of the virus from respiratory tract, is suggestive of dysbiosis leading to the poor prognosis of COVID- 19 in hospitalized patients. Gut microbiome (GM) plays a significant role to stimulate the modulated antiviral immune response against invading pathogens regulating the physiological homeostasis.