001015 - A shifted paradigm, from the monobiotic to the holobiotic, holds profound implications for the ideas of infection and immunity

The concepts of infection and immunity have been dictated by a paradigm, the “monobiotic”, of an interaction between the host and a pathogenic organism, each a distinct individual species. While this paradigm has served well, anomalies are accumulating. Classical infectious diseases have decreased in prevalence, they have been replaced by chronic diseases.

A literature review of the history and philosophy of the emergence of the holobiotic paradigm and of the anomalies challenging currently dominant concepts of infection and immunity.

Microbes have been perceived as a threat to health, necessitating the ongoing conduct of a battle against “germs” through strict hygienic practices, antimicrobial substances and vaccination Entire phyla of organisms, the helminths a case in point, have been demonised as “parasites” and “pathogens”, despite accumulating evidence that hosting them confers protection against chronic diseases.

The concepts of “holobiosis” and the “holobiont” conceive of multicellular organisms, including the human, as ecological systems comprising a multitude of taxa ranging from viruses, through bacteria, fungi and protists, to macrobes such as helminths and the host organism. Viewed in this way, health and illness are the consequences of complex interactions between the constituents of this ecological system, in equilibrium or disequilibrium.

What we call the immune system is, in this view, not purely, or even primarily, a defense against pathogens, but is the mediator of the multidirectional interactions between componentsl of the holobiont and of the development and maturation of aspects of host physiology including metabolic and neurological function.

Mounting evidence of the effect of vaccines on non-target diseases and of their implication in develomental and chronic diseases is vigorously denied or ignored.

IInterventions guided by the monobiotic paradigm, such as antimicrobial treatments hygienic practices and vaccination, have broader effects on health particularly on the prevalence of chronic diseases, risks which require more prudent balancing against their benefits in the setting of public health policy. medical practice and popular science.