"COVID-19 diarrhea" depends on inflammatory response that is part of the disease Researchers in the United States have provided important insights into the pathophysiology of diarrhea that occurs in some cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The team says the “COVID-19 diarrhea” that may develop following infection with the causative agent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the first example of viral diarrhea that is dependent on the inflammatory response that occurs as part of the disease. The researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center in Albuquerque have shown that one change in the intestinal transport process is the inhibition of two proteins (NHE3 and DRA) that enable neutral sodium chloride (NaCl) absorption – the primary way that sodium is absorbed from the intestine in between meals.