The study suggests infections co-existing in the body can compete with each other to alter disease
Using drugs to treat an infection could allow other co-existing conditions to flourish, a study at the Universities of Liverpool and Edinburgh have shown. Researchers studying wild mice - which typically carry multiple parasitic infections at once - found that when these animals were treated for one type of bug, other infections they had tended to worsen. Infections compete The findings suggest that infections that co-exist in our bodies can compete with each other to alter disease. Treating one infection may have unintended consequences by enabling others to gain a stronger foothold - perhaps to the overall detriment of our health. Scientists at Liverpool and Edinburgh treated wild wood mice for a gut worm infection over several weeks. During treatment, researchers monitored levels not only of the worm, but also tested the animals for dozens of other common parasite infections. "This work shows that treating one disease can have undesirable effects for other diseases, and may help us understand the effects of similar treatments in people and domesticated animals” - During treatment, levels of the gut worm fell, but levels of other parasites in the gut increased.
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