Bacteria, Viruses, and the Microbiome

Bacterial and viral illnesses have been a constant threat to well-being. Because of their ability to mutate, continuous surveillance is necessary to prevent diseases. Even with this, the possibility of viral spread from animal to human, and then between humans, is a worrisome prospect. Many bacteria have also been encouraged to mutate so that they have become resistant to standard antiobiotic treatments, including those that were considered the last bastion of defense. Aside from these foreign particles, microbiota comprising bacteria, viruses, fungi, archaea, and protists occupy much of the human body. Typically, beneficial and potentially harmful microbes live harmoniously, but under a variety of conditions (e.g., antibiotic treatment, stressors, and toxicant exposure), dysbiosis or frank loss of bacteria occurs. These microbiota variations may affect immune functioning, thus increasing vulnerability to a range of physical illnesses, and by virtue of brain changes imparted may promote psychological disorders.