Individual trace of microbes leaves each person
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Recently, scientists have found that bacteria live not only on the body or inside a person, they also surround it with an invisible cloud. They also found that each has its own unique set of bacteria and the trace from it remains in the air for several hours after the person left.
Bacteria, both useful and harmful, are constantly in close relationship with the person, live inside and on the surface of the body, all of which are very important for health and perform certain functions. Thanks to bacteria, the normal functioning of the digestive system is provided, the immune defense of the organism increases.
Eight years ago in the United States launched the project "Human Microbiome" for a thorough study of bacteria that live in interaction with humans. The project involved 2 hundred healthy people, from whom scientists took samples of microorganisms from different parts of the body and internal organs.
It turned out that a person has more than 10 thousand species of bacteria, mostly useful or harmless. But pathogenic bacteria also are in close contact with the human body, for example, in the nasal cavity there was golden staphylococcus, which, with weakening of immunity, provokes the development of bilateral pneumonia (it was detected in 30% of participants).
6 years ago, scientists made a map of the habitat of microorganisms on the human body. This work showed that the most bacteria live in the nasal cavity, auditory passages, hair, lower intestines, feet and palms, and least of all - in the oral cavity.
American specialists from Oregon University decided to determine whether bacteria live around a person.
A few years ago, James Meadow and his colleagues conducted two experiments, in which 11 people (20 to 32 years old) did not suffer from any chronic illnesses. For 4 months before the start of the experiment, participants were forbidden to take medicine.
During the experiments participants were supposed to be in a ventilated room (in the first case, air came from the next room, in the second - from the street, while the air passed through small purification systems).
In the first case, each participant sat in the room for 4 hours, then briefly left and again returned for 2 hours. In the second, the participants were allowed to enter the room for 1.5 hours 3 times.
After each exit of the participants, air samples were taken from the room, as well as dust from the surface and walls, tables, chairs, etc. (experts entered the room in special sterile suits). In total, more than 300 samples were taken, in which thousands of bacteria were detected in a variety of combinations (more than 14 million variants).
In the first case, scientists wanted to know if there were microorganisms around the person and whether they remained in the air.
It turned out that each person has an individual set of bacteria that were hovering in the ventilated room 4 hours after the "master" left it. Basically, the microbial cloud consists of lactobacilli, lactobacilli, peptostreptokokov, streptococci, bifidobacteria, staphylococci.
Also, scientists have established that the sex of bacteria can be determined by tracing bacteria, for example, a large number of lactobacilli have been identified in a female microbial cloud. Such results of the first experiment forced the scientists to hold a second one in which they wanted to establish how individual the cloud surrounding a person is.
After the second experiment, scientists accurately determined which trace left this or that participant. At the same time, scientists stressed that the same bacteria surround all people, but the ratio of these bacteria is different for everyone, unique.
James Meadow noted that when starting experiments, they assumed the presence of microbes around a person, but the fact that such a trail can establish the identity of a person was a complete surprise.
Experts are sure that this work will be useful not only from a medical point of view, but also, probably, in the future will help in the work of forensic scientists.
Now the research needs to be continued, scientists are sure, since there are doubts whether it is possible to identify the microbial trail of a certain person if several people were in the room.
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