The variations of vaginal microbiota composition in relation to the severity of COVID-19
Mycoplasma hominis , Fusobacterium nucleatum andAnaerococcus tetradius were only identified in patients with moderate or severe disease (8%, 0.03%, and 0.003%, respectively) (Figure 4). In a comparison of the patients with asymptomatic or mild and moderate or severe disease, there was no significant difference in abundance of Prevotella timonensis (0.05% and 0.02%, p=0.379); however, Ureaplasma spp. was significantly higher in the moderate or severe group (2.09%) than those of the asymptomatic or mild ( 0.04%, p=0.005). In addition, Gardnerella vaginalis showed a gradual increase in both two groups (1.99% and 5.11%) compared to the healthy controls (9.33%) (Figure 4).
In the longitudinal vaginal microbiota analysis of the three pregnant women, the relative abundance of Actinobacteria increased from 10.8% to 59.2% during active infection and returned to 10.8% in the post-COVID-19 phase. There is a declining trend in the abundance of Bacteroidata (Bacteroidetes) (from 65.4% to 17.9%) and Firmicutes (from 59.2% to 28.4%) during the phase of active COVID-19 with no regrowth in the post-COVID-19 phase (17.9% and 10.8%, respectively) (Figure 5).