Gut pathogens: invaders and turncoats in a complex cosmos

Abstract

Intestinal infections and diarrhoeal diseases of humans are under-reported yet each account worldwide for more deaths than those from Tuberculosis. For external gut pathogens to do this they have to penetrate, survive and prosper in an established and defended ecosystem comprising the human gut with a massive immune system, a structured tight mucosal lining and a lumen densely occupied by a huge community of diverse bacteria adapted to their environment and optimised in a balanced and mutually beneficial relationship with its host.