Gut Microbe Protects Us from Cholera

A gut microbe was identified,

that helps us to resist cholera. This heroic bacterium exists in a healthy gut microbiome.

The gut microbe named: Blautia obeum wields a weapon that defeats a globally debilitating disease! (click on image for more info).

The cholera bacteria are called Vibrio cholera (V. cholera).

If your gut has large amounts of gut microbe Blautia, this research published in Cell, in June 2020, describes how you can keep Vibrio cholera at bay.

Humanity has had 7 cholera pandemics.

This table shows the details of those pandemics.

and poor sanitation infrastructure. This diarrheal pathogen can kill within hours if it is not treated.

In modern times,

as many as four million people a year get infected with cholera. This happens due to contaminated food, water,

But now, researcher Ansel Hsiao and team, identify a heroine bacterium. This one has been part of our gut microbiome (that is, the microbial community in our digestive tracts).

And this heroine's name, is Blautia! How does this special gut microbe, Blautia, do this?

Blautia deactivates Vibrio's disease-causing mechanisms.

This means that the Vibrio bacteria are stopped from colonizing the intestines. And if the cholera-causing Vibrio cannot colonize our intestines, well then, we don't get as sick!

What does this mean going forward?

It means that we can continue to find ways to "Whisper" to our gut microbiome communities Specifically we can name certain microbes. If we can do that, we can dialogue with particular bacteria in our gut, that we know can help us stay healthy. And now, we can even target disease causing bacteria, like Vibrio cholera!

Because B. obeum makes people less susceptible to cholera, microbiologists plan to focus on how to increase it in the gut.
Researcher Hsiao says: “We are extremely interested now in learning which environmental factors, such as diet, can boost levels of B. obeum.”