Children who had certain beneficial bacteria dominating their intestines in the first week of life were less likely to be hospitalized with viral respiratory infections. This was discovered by British scientists in the largest study to date of newborn microbiomes, which may open new avenues for preventing disease in infants.
This is reported by UNN with reference to MedicalXpress.
Details
New research has shown that the composition of a child's gut bacteria - its microbiome - which begins to form immediately after birth, can help protect against viral infections later in childhood.
In the largest study to date of infant microbiomes, scientists from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and University College London (UCL) found that infants under one week of age, with a specific set of gut bacteria (which was found only in some children born naturally), were less likely to be hospitalized with viral lower respiratory tract infections (vLRTI) during the first two years of life.
Thus, the study, published in The Lancet Microbe, showed a link between the composition of the gut microbiome in the first week of life and hospitalizations for respiratory infections in early childhood.
How the study was conducted
Using full genome sequencing and analysis of stool samples from 1,082 newborns, the researchers examined their electronic medical records to track hospitalizations up to two years.
Building on previous studies of the infant microbiome in the UK, scientists have found that certain combinations of bacteria provide health benefits - in particular, may protect against viral infections. Although further research is needed to confirm this link, the authors believe that these findings may influence future approaches to preventing childhood respiratory diseases and developing infant probiotics.
What is a microbiome
A microbiome is a complex ecosystem of millions of microorganisms that are critical to human health.
Since the formation of the microbiome begins immediately after birth, the first month of life is key. Earlier, researchers found that children born vaginally have a different microbiome compared to children born by cesarean section, although these differences diminish by the first year of life.
Which bacteria are beneficial
Another study by the same team showed that all infants in the UK have one of three "pioneer" bacteria in the first week of life. Two of them - Bifidobacterium longum (B. longum) and Bifidobacterium breve (B. breve) - are considered beneficial because they help develop a stable microbiome.
In the new study, the team found, based on sample analysis, that some children born vaginally who were dominated by B. longum and other similarly beneficial bacteria - B. bifidum and B. dorei - had a lower risk of hospitalization for respiratory viral infections. This association persisted even after accounting for factors such as antibiotic use, feeding type (breast, formula, or combination).
However, not all children born vaginally had the same microbial composition. The team identified two more separate groups of children with different microbiome profiles who had a higher risk of hospitalization for viral lower respiratory tract infections (vLRTI) compared to those in the Bifidobacterium longum-dominant group.
Importantly, these differences were found in both vaginally born and cesarean-born children. The researchers stressed that this is currently only an association, or correlation, and not a proven causal relationship. Further in-depth studies are needed for this.
The current work focused on respiratory viral infections, but scientists intend to investigate the likely protective effect of B. longum and other potentially beneficial bacteria, such as B. breve, in the context of other health outcomes. This will be the subject of their next large-scale study called 4M.
Viral lower respiratory tract infection is one of the leading causes of hospitalization in young children, and our study raises the possibility that certain early gut microbiomes may help reduce this risk. Further research to confirm and explore the factors behind this, including whether there is an interaction between the gut microbiome and the lung microbiome, could lead to new ways to prevent respiratory infections in childhood,
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