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by David Turell , Tuesday, August 08, 2023, 19:34 (263 days ago) @ David Turell

Vaginal birth gives the infantba useful microbiome:

https://www.the-scientist.com/news/vaginal-delivery-promotes-early-childhood-vaccine-re...

"To investigate the association of deliv­ery, the microbiome, and early vaccine response, Fuentes and her colleagues fol­lowed a cohort of 120 healthy infants. Formation of the early infant immune system is partially governed by the gut microbiome, which is seeded at birth.7 The method by which an infant is born influences what types of bacteria are more prevalent in the early microbiome.8 The researchers characterized the infants’ early gut microbiome through genetic sequencing and their mucosal antibody responses following administration of the anti-pneumococcal vaccine at 12 months and the anti-meningococcal vaccine at 18 months of age. They then investigated factors such as mode of delivery, early feeding methods, sex, having pets or sib­lings, exposure to antibiotics, and daycare attendance on the microbiome and anti­body responses.

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"...the researchers showed that birth by vagi­nal delivery resulted in higher antibody responses against the anti-pneumococ­cal and anti-meningococcal vaccines. This could be because the vaginal micro­biome is an important microbial source that drives infant gut microbiome devel­opment.9 Fuentes further found that the presence of Bifidobacterium and Escherichia coli in the first few weeks of infant gut devel­opment resulted in increased immune responses to the vaccines. This study is the first to show an association between gut microbial colonization patterns early in life and the vaccine response, establishing the microbiome as a novel player that researchers can exploit when designing new intervention strategies for infectious diseases.

“I think it really puts another nail in the coffin [in the debate whether] microbes really do influence immune system development in early life,” said Brett Finlay, a professor and microbiolo­gist at the University of British Columbia who was not involved in the study. “And that’s what a vaccination is, it’s a readout of the immune system.”

Comment: we have to have useful bacteria despite the bad side effects.