Owing to significant advances in microbiome science over the past two decades, a brink has been reached in a paradigm shift regarding the role of microbes in disease and health, from the Germ Theory of Disease to the Microbial Theory of Health. This shift will necessitate a change in the approaches taken to design targeted infection control. In particular, knowledge of the microbiome will need to be leveraged when attempting to reduce the risk posed by infectious agents through use of targeted hygiene, and by fostering/balancing exposure to naturally diverse microbial communities. A paper appearing in the November 2020 issue of the American Journal of Infection Control considers theories over the last 30 years that have had an impact on hygiene policy and consumer practice, from the Germ Theory of Disease and the Hygiene Hypothesis, to the Microbial Theory of Health, including the concept of Bidirectional Hygiene. A high-level review of the literature on pathogen transmission and the cycle of infection in the home and everyday settings is presented.
The authors believe it is time to restore public understanding of hygiene, and specifically targeted hygiene, as a tool for preventing transmission of pathogens (breaking the chain of infection) and, consequently, transmission of infectious diseases. Shifting the paradigm from a Germ Theory of Disease toward a Microbial Theory of Health, wellness, and disease prevention should not be allowed to undermine the critical role that targeted personal and surface hygiene practices play in interrupting the dissemination of infectious agents. Additionally, the authors indicate that it is critical to restore the public understanding of the basic principles of good hygiene practices and the importance of the concept of targeted hygiene as a means of minimizing the dissemination of infectious agents. The Microbial Theory of Health, including age-appropriate and health-appropriate hygiene practices for home and everyday life, should usher in a new era in which pathogen reduction can be accomplished without indiscriminate elimination of potentially beneficial microbes from the human and environmental microbiomes.
More November 2020 TRENDS Articles
COVID-19: A DELICATE COEVOLUTIONARY DANCE
Discusses how an evolutionary perspective can advance understanding of the relationship between this virus and the human race. Read More
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
Looks at factors that will affect legislation and health policy outcomes as a new Administration is poised to occupy the White House in January 2021. Read More
HEALTH REFORM DEVELOPMENTS
Point out the impact that the coronavirus has had on health policy, along with some observations of a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the Affordable Care Act and what to expect from a Biden Administration. Read More
DEVELOPMENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Describes the volume and repayment of federal student education loans and the degree to which racial disparities have an impact on debt burdens. Read More
QUICK STAT (SHORT, TIMELY, AND TOPICAL)
Chronic Pain And High-Impact Chronic Pain Among U.S. Adults: 2019
Black, Hispanic Patients Hospitalized For COVID-19 At Disproportionately High Rates
Exploration Of The Link Between Obstructive Sleep Apnea And Autoimmune Disease
Pre-Recorded Audio Messages Help Improve Outcomes For Patients With Heart Failure Read More
AVAILABLE RESOURCES ACCESSIBLE ELECTRONICALLY
State Of Lung Cancer In The U.S.
A Global Grand Challenge Of Achieving Healthy Human Longevity
U.S. Maternal Death Rates Are The Highest Among Wealthy Countries Read More
POPULATION HEALTH SCIENCE AND THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Examines how dynamics of this disease indicate that population health is best served by thinking dimensionally across a range of health indicators, expanding the focus beyond clearly defined categorical outcomes. Read More
MOVING FROM A GERM THEORY OF DISEASE TO THE MICROBIAL THEORY OF HEALTH
Pertains to a shift regarding the role of microbes in disease and health that necessitates a change in the approaches taken to design targeted infection control. Read More