León virologist Estanislao Nistal demonstrates that influenza A changes the gut microbiota

It was a five-year effort that tackled a “very difficult but very interesting” topic and linked how viral infections affect the abnormal or uncontrolled growth of gut bacteria. Nistal explained that the researchers analyzed changes in antibiotic resistance in intestinal bacterial communities after infection with influenza A virus.

“We have observed that the intestinal microbiota is becoming increasingly resistant to some common antibiotics that are commonly used to treat infections affecting the ears or throat or to treat diseases such as pneumonia,” explains the León virologist.

Paradigm Shift to More Individualized Treatment

The research pursues a paradigm shift that addresses antibiotic resistance in bacterial communities rather than in single bacteria, as has been traditionally done. In this way, antimicrobial profiles will document how bacteria as a whole are affected, enabling a strategy to improve antibiotic selection and make progress toward more personalized treatments.

“Understanding the behavior of microbial communities, such as intestinal bacteria, allows us to predict treatment failure due to the use of ineffective antibiotics in patients,” explained Pedro Jiménez, co-principal investigator of the study, in a statement to Servimedia.

Although Leon recognizes that the work in this area is long and difficult because it is a rarely explored problem, he celebrates that the applications discovered can be applied to patients’ daily lives because the research reflects the impact of infections due to influenza, In addition to changing the composition of the gut microbiota, it also alters its response to antibiotics.

The paradigm shift proposed by the authors, which focuses research on understanding how bacteria work together rather than individually, could mean important advances in advancing more precise treatments for disease.