Friendly bacteria fight the flu : Nature News

“Neomycin-sensitive bacteria naturally present in the mice’s bodies provided a trigger that led to the production of T cells and antibodies that could fight an influenza infection in the lungs. When antibiotics eliminated the bacteria, inflammasomes failed to launch and the virus multiplied.”

Another paper of bacteria modulating the immune response for the whole body. I’ve seen a few that tease out different bacteria with different effects. The key thing that all these papers find is that that gut microbes can modulate immune response. If that’s the case, then we need to not only be mindful of the antibiotics we take, but also what we eat. The flora in your gut could protect you from getting sick from viruses and other nasties.

[As an aside: gotta chuckle at “inflammasome”. Do the ‘omes never end?]

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