What is it about?
This review shows that the term "hygiene hypothesis" is a misleading misnomer for a phenomenon which is essntially correct. Evidence shows that we need exposure to the diverse range of microbes which make up t[our human , animal and natural environment, but the idea that exposure to infection is important is no longer supported. Similarly the evidence suggests that a whole range of lifestyle and medical changes are responsible. These include the trend towards C section rather than natural childbirth, less breastfeeding, less outdoor activity, excessive antibiotic prescribing and diet. There is little or no evidence of a link to hygiene and cleanliness as the public understands it. The continued use of this outdated and misleading misnomer is hindering the search for effective ways to restore the microbial exposures we need, whilst at the same time protecting against exposure to pathogens
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Perspectives
The continued use of the term "hygiene" hypothesis to describe this important public health finding is undermining public understanding and public confidence in hygiene (the things we do to protect against infectious diseases). This is happening at a time when hygiene is becoming more important as the sustainable way to contain the global infectious disease burden and address the global problem of antibiotic resistance. At the same time it is preventing us from understanding the true causes of the rise in inflammatory diseases and finding strategies to address this issue
Professor Sally F Bloomfield
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Time to abandon the hygiene hypothesis: new perspectives on allergic disease, the human microbiome, infectious disease prevention and the role of targeted hygiene, Perspectives in Public Health, June 2016, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/1757913916650225.
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