In December 2019, a cluster of pneumonia cases of unidentified cause emerged in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. In early January, a novel betacoronavirus forming another clade within the subgenus sarbecovirus, now named SARS-CoV-2, was identified as the culprit of this disease currently being identified as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) by WHO.~Coronavirus was found to not only target the patient's lungs, but also multiple organs. Around 2-33% of COVID-19 patients developed gastrointestinal symptoms. Studies have shown that SAR-CoV-2 was found in patient's feces, suggesting that the virus can spread through feces. In our previous study, stool samples from 15 patients with COVID-19 were analysed. Depleted symbionts and gut dysbiosis were noted even after patients were detected negative of SARS-CoV-2. A series of microbiota were correlated inversely with the disease severity and virus load. Gut microbiota could play a role in modulating host immune response and potentially influence disease severity and outcomes.~In July 2020, there are more than 15 million confirmed cases globally with 620 thousand deaths. Currently, there are more than 2000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Hong Kong. The investigators are uncertain about the impact of synbiotic on patients with COVID-19. However, a therapeutic strategy aiming at investigating the gut Imicrobiota of patients with COVID-9 who take synbiotic or not, leading to lesser progression to severe disease, less hospital stay and improved quality of life.
In December 2019, a cluster of pneumonia cases of unidentified cause emerged in Wuhan,was identified as the culprit of this disease currently being identified as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) by World Health Organization.~Coronavirus was found to not only target the patient's lungs but also multiple organs. Around 2-33% of Coronavirus Disease-19 patients developed gastrointestinal symptoms. Studies have shown that Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SAR-CoV-2) was found in patient's feces, suggesting that the virus can spread through feces. In our previous study, stool samples from 15 patients with COVID-19 were analysed. Depleted symbionts and gut dysbiosis were noted even after patients were detected negative of SARS-CoV-2. A series of microbiota were correlated inversely with the disease severity and virus load. Gut microbiota could play a role in modulating host immune response and potentially influence disease severity and outcomes.~The investigators are uncertain about the impact of synbiotic on patients with COVID-19. However, a therapeutic strategy aiming at investigating the gut Imicrobiota of patients with COVID-9 who take synbiotic or not, leading to lesser progression to severe disease, less hospital stay and improved quality of life.