The issue of intestinal bacteria is a complex one. On the one hand, we are dependent on the microorganisms because they are the ones that digest the food in our intestine. On the other hand, there are also numerous pathogens present among the bacteria. Some of these pathogens can cause diarrhoea, while with others it depends on the circumstances: they can live unnoticed in the intestine for a long time, but they become dangerous if the immune system is weakened, the intestinal wall is damaged, or they enter the blood via wounds. This can lead to blood poisoning or life-threatening inflammation of organs.
For a long time, scientists have been investigating vaccines against pathogenic microbes in the intestine – particularly those that antibiotics have become ineffective against due to resistance. This…