Long COVID -Human gut metagenomes

Persistent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and its post-acute sequelae, collectively termed long COVID, represent an ongoing global health challenge. Although SARS-CoV-2 affects the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), the impact of long COVID on the gut microbiome remains poorly understood, particularly in understudied African populations. Here, we employed shotgun metagenomic sequencing to characterize the gut microbiome of South African individuals with long COVID and matched healthy controls.