Asthma: Good Bacteria & Bad Bacteria?

In my last two posts (Jan 4 & 7), I’ve been discussing the apparent connection between resident bacteria in our bodies and asthma.

         One of the most interesting findings about this comes from a study by William Cookson and Miriam Moffatt at Imperial College, London.  They found that asthmatics tend to have flu-type bacteria in their lungs, even though they may not be sick.  On the other hand, non-asthmatics’ lungs tend to contain soil bacteria, sea bacteria, and gut bacteria.

         The question is, what is the role of these bacteria?  Do they cause or protect against asthma?  Do they cause or protect against something which itself causes asthma?  Or is the connection something we haven’t thought of yet?

         This is going to be an interesting topic to follow for many years.  There are so many clues and so few answers. 

         I'll have some final thoughts on bacteria, asthma, and human beings in my next post.