Are Pathogenic Microorganisms Sometimes Useful?
Dr. Stanfley Falkow, professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Stanford University has discovered that some pathogenic (dangerous) microorganisms may have a beneficial side to individuals that are infected. The bacteria, Slmonella may cause a short-term infection, but long-term infection is usually innocuous. Salmonella can exist in the white blood cells of the immune system over the host’s lifetime without ever causing clinical symptoms of infection. Different individuals may have different susceptibilities to microorganisms resulting in different susceptibilities to infection. The susceptibility is thought to have a genetic origin. Another bacterium, H. pylori, can cause gastritis, ulcers, and stomach cancer, but ninety percent of humans are infected with H. pylori and show only mild inflammation of the stomach lining. Only one percent of the infected people ever develop ulcers or gastric cancer. Do these pathogenic bacteria have beneficial effects similar to our friendly bacteria?
