COVID-19 saliva testing kits that include a novel preservative can also be used to measure microscopic organisms in the mouth, a Rutgers study found. This enables study of the relationship between mouth and lung microbes and the SARS-CoV-2 virus that may allow for the development of new treatments. The study, published in the journal NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes, is the first to test the accuracy of these saliva-based, at-home COVID test kits in measuring the oral microbiome, the bacteria found in animals and humans. “We inhale a small amount of our saliva every day, so it makes sense that some of the microbes that live in our mouths would end up in our lungs,” said lead author Abigail Armstrong, a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine (CABM) at Rutgers. “By studying the mouth microbiome in these banked samples of people with or without COVID-19, we can get an idea of how the microbial environment in the mouth and lung might impact the disease.” To read the full story.