(BMJ NPH & NNEdPro Co-ordination of Submissions: Martin Kohlmeier, Bryndís Eva Birgisdóttir, Shane McAuliffe, Sumantra Ray)

The COVID-19 epidemic sweeping the world is an urgent health challenge for all sectors of society, including the nutrition sciences. BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health aims to provide some perspectives on the little that we currently know about nutrition interactions with the virus and the effects it causes on the human body. Obviously, we are particularly anxious to learn as much as we can about opportunities to slow the spreading of the contagion. Then, we also want to understand what nutritional circumstances or interventions might mitigate harms of the infections both acutely and in the long term. In addition, we would welcome any good quality evidence supporting a combination of diet and lifestyle factors that may strengthen immunity and potential susceptibility to COVID-19.

Not least, we need to start planning for any opportunities for the prevention of continued spreading and of future waves of epidemics. It appears that some individuals with minimal or absent disease symptoms can be infectious and may respond favorably to strengthening of their immune system by general good nutrition. If this is plausible, public health professionals should know about it and include this knowledge in their planning and practice.

BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health will review submissions on the topic within days and aim to make accepted materials available to our readers on a much accelerated schedule with the hope to contribute to the understanding of health providers and other in need to know.

Please also see A 10-point summary on Diet, Nutrition and the Role of Micronutrients by E Fallon, S McAuliffe & S Ray on behalf of the NNEdPro Global Centre for Nutrition and Health and the NNEdPro COVID-19 Nutrition Resources