We hear about humans having and needing “good bacteria”. Are there similarly “good viruses” in our bodies?
Robert Barrie
London, UK
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Focusing specifically on the gut, there is indeed an equivalent of the bacteria that live there: the “gut virome”. While not as widely appreciated as their bacterial accomplices, these viruses play a major role in balancing our gut microbiome, which is important in the prevention of diseases and bowel conditions. Indeed, there are more than 140,000 of these heroic microscopic agents that have taken up residence in our gut, helping us every day to maintain a healthy body. I am certainly not going to charge them rent!
Cheda Martis
Warrenton, Georgia, US
A healthy human gut (and skin etc.) has a plethora of bacteria, viruses and fungi that seem to work together to maintain each other at healthy levels. So far, though, most of our investigations have been into bacteria.
Our understanding of this ecosystem is so new that it is hard to define “good” and “bad” in an absolute way. For example, the bacterium E. coli occurs in healthy human guts and can have a healthy role, and . But sometimes it can be pathogenic, causing gut illness and urinary tract infections, and it still isn’t known what causes that change from “good” to “bad”.
[Ed – We are beginning to discover that most parts of the body contain viruses that may be vital for our health. However, most of these viruses don’t infect human cells, but bacteria. Known as bacteriophages, they play a vital role in and in defending the gut lining. Mouths seems to be a viral hotbed too. Each of us has a . Even our blood, once thought to be sterile, . Efforts are now underway to create .]
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