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New research: Could beneficial viruses colonise the infant gut microbiome — helped by breastfeeding?
QUICK SUMMARY: New research shines a light on the colonisation of the infant gut microbiome by anelloviruses (AVs) — which might be a kind of beneficial virus, at least, no diseases have (so far) been associated with anelloviruses. The study finds that breastfeeding might be important for the transmission of AVs.
If you regularly follow my blogs (and please do FOLLOW ME), you might already know about the amazing microscopic events happening during pregnancy, labour, birth and breastfeeding.
Here’s a quick summary…
Beneficial bacteria are transferred from mum to baby during vaginal birth.
These beneficial bacteria are then fed by the special sugars (human milk oligosaccharides) which are present in the mum’s breast milk — HMOs are the third most abundant component of breast milk.
Fed by the HMO sugars in breast milk, this ensures beneficial bacteria quickly colonise the infant gut microbiome.
Having beneficial bacteria colonise the infant gut microbiome is important for the optimal development of the infant immune system.
The beneficial bacteria in a baby’s gut help train the infant immune system to correctly identify what is…
