Babies who attend daycare share 'good' germs, too

"A large proportion of a baby's developing microbiota comes from their peers at nursery, even after just one month of attendance, an analysis has found. The study, published today in Nature, analysed the gut microbiomes of infants during their first year of nursery. The amount of microorganisms that were transmitted between babies grew throughout the year. After four months, the babies at a nursery already shared 1520% of their microbial species. That was higher than the proportion of all the microbes that they had acquired from birth until that point from the family, says Nicola Segata, a microbiologist at the University of Trento in Italy."

"Some of the changes in the children's microbiomes will be due to the diet they had at the nurseries, but the study shows that the transmission of microbial strains between babies is extensive during the first year of nursery, and points to social interactions at this stage being key to building a diverse, healthy microbiome, adds Segata."

"Bug transmission While a fetus is still in the uterus, its microbiome is thought to be non-existent in healthy pregnancies, but it starts to develop quickly after birth, mainly through microbial transmission from the mother."

A large proportion of a baby's developing microbiota comes from nursery peers, apparent even after one month of attendance. Analyses of infant gut microbiomes during the first year of nursery revealed increasing microorganism transmission between babies over time. After four months, nursery-attending infants already shared 15–20% of their microbial species, a higher proportion than microbes acquired from the family since birth. Dietary differences at nurseries contribute to microbiome changes, but intensive transmission of microbial strains between babies and frequent social interactions at this stage appear central to building a diverse, healthy microbiome. The fetal microbiome is considered non-existent in healthy pregnancies, with postnatal development beginning mainly via maternal transmission. Forty-three infants in Trento were followed through their first nursery year.

Read at www.nature.com