When the Virus Leaves But the Lock Stays: Post-Viral Epigenetic Silencing in Gut Dysfunction and… — section

You see the patient. The infection cleared weeks, months, sometimes years ago. PCR negative. Antibodies present. By every conventional marker, the pathogen is gone. And yet the gut does not recover. The bloating persists. The SIBO recurs. The mast cells keep firing. The motility is erratic. The patient cannot tolerate foods they once ate without a second thought. Standard antimicrobials buy temporary relief, then regression. Probiotics produce flares. Even dietary fiber — theoretically the most fundamental fuel for colonocyte renewal — is poorly tolerated.