Shown is tissue taken from patients with Barrett's esophagus. The cells resemble intestinal cells rather than normal esophagus cells. The red color notes the presence of a protein called actin that is found in intestinal cells, while the green marks the presence of the TMPRSS2 protein that binds to the coronavirus. Image provided by Washington University School of Medicine.
ST. LOUIS — People with chronic acid reflux may be more vulnerable to getting COVID-19 by swallowing the virus, suggests a study by Washington University School of Medicine.
The study in the medical journal Gastroenterology.
Researchers studied tissue from 30 patients with a common disorder called Barrett’s esophagus — when repeated exposure to stomach acid changes the normal tissue lining of the esophagus to resemble the lining of the intestine.
Because intestinal cells have receptors that can bind to the coronavirus, senior investigator and his team wondered if Barrett’s patients also would develop receptors in the esophagus, the tube that carries food to the stomach, according to a university news release about the study.
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They found that while cells in a healthy esophagus cannot bind to the coronavirus, cells from patients with the disorder can.
It has been considered unlikely to get COVID-19 from eating and drinking because most foods are unlikely to carry viral particles. Even if some particles are attached to the food, stomach acid neutralizes the coronavirus.
Patients with Barrett’s take drugs such as proton pump inhibitors to suppress stomach acid secretions, but that also be may weakening patients’ defenses against the coronavirus, the researchers say.
An estimated one in five people have chronic acid reflux, and 10% to 20% of those with chronic reflux develop Barrett’s esophagus.
“The worry would be that, particularly for Barrett’s patients, there even may be a susceptibility to infection from foods containing viral particles,†Mills stated. “This study provides data to indicate that we need to take a closer look to investigate whether a substantial portion of the population may be susceptible to infection through what they swallow.â€
COVID-19 in Missouri and Illinois: By the numbers
NOTE: On Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) changed how it reports COVID-19 cases and deaths. The department began counting reinfections as new cases, and added epidemiologically linked cases to its counts.
On April 17, 2021, DHSS adjusted a database error that was causing individuals with both a positive PCR and antigen result to be counted as both a probable and confirmed case. This correction removed 11,454 cases that were counted twice in previous probable antigen cases, according the notation. That date's data has been removed from this display.
Beginning March 8, 2021, DHSS began posting county-level data showing "probable" COVID-19 cases detected by antigen testing. Using the historical data from the DHSS dashboard, we reconfigured this graph to include that number in the total.
Missouri updated its data dashboard on Sept. 28. 2020, to delete duplicate cases. This resulted in a decrease of total cases which caused the daily count to reflect a negative number. That date's data has been removed from this display.
NOTE: On Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) changed how it reports COVID-19 cases and deaths. The department began counting reinfections as new cases, and added epidemiologically linked cases to its counts.
On April 17, 2021, DHSS adjusted a database error that was causing individuals with both a positive PCR and antigen result to be counted as both a probable and confirmed case. This correction removed 11,454 cases that were counted twice in previous probable antigen cases, according the notation.
Beginning March 8, 2021, DHSS began posting county-level data showing "probable" COVID-19 cases detected by antigen testing. Using the historical data from the DHSS dashboard, we reconfigured this graph to include that number in the total.
Missouri updated its data dashboard on Sept. 28. 2020, to delete duplicate cases. This resulted in a decrease of total cases which caused the daily count to reflect a negative number.
NOTE: On Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) changed how it reports COVID-19 cases and deaths. The department began counting reinfections as new cases, and added epidemiologically linked cases to its counts.
NOTE: On Oct. 11, Missouri announced that a database error had resulted in an “incorrect inflation†of cases in its Oct. 10 report
Note from St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force: The data includes patients at BJC HealthCare, SSM Health and St. Luke's Hospital. As of Jan. 17, 2022, the data includes patients at the VA St. Louis Healthcare System.
Note from Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services: Note: Due to an abrupt change in data measures and the reporting platform issued by the White House on Monday, July 13, and effective Wednesday, July 15, Missouri Hospital Association (MHA) and the State of Missouri were unable to access hospitalization data during the transition. .
NOTE: On Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) began counting probable death along with confirmed deaths.
