Microbiota,Viral Infection,and the Relationship to Human Diseases:An Area of Increasing Interest in the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

The current severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)pandemic and its severe societal burden have underscored the importance of understanding eukaryotic viral infection and its relationship to both acute and secondary health effects.1,2 Many viruses,including SARS-CoV-2 in some instances,replicate in the enteric tract or have an indirect relationship with it.A growing area of focus has been to understand the relationship between the gut microbiota and viral infection,as some evidence suggests that certain bacteria or bacterial compositions can promote3–8 or inhibit7,9,10 viral pathogenesis.The gut microbiota has been implicated in affecting pathophysiology of local gut and many remote organs such as the lungs,liver,and brain.7 Although the interaction between viral replication and bacteria in the gut is an exciting growing area of focus,gaps still exist in understanding the effect enteric replication of some viruses has on the gut microbiome and if there are other health consequences of any of those changes.