There are over ten thousand unknown viruses in a baby’s poop. At least, that’s what a team of scientists revealed in a study published in the journal Nature Microbiology. To arrive at the discovery, the group even analyzed fecal samples from 647 babies.
The viruses in question are bacteriophages — they exclusively infect bacteria and make up a large part of the human microbiome, which consists of a complex collection of microorganisms. The viral component of the gut microbiome, for example, is primarily bacteriophages that help maintain a healthy environment.
Based on the findings, the researchers created a kind of atlas of childhood intestinal viruses, which they grouped into 248 families, of which only 16 were previously known.
The researchers named the remaining 232 newly identified virus families after children who participated in the study.
infant intestinal virus
The study authors point out that each person has their own unique set of bacteriophages and other viruses in the gut. While each intestinal virome is unique, it is also stable over time in adults, meaning you carry the same set of viruses with you as you age.
In any case, the study clarifies that, shortly after the birth of a baby, this virome is very different from that of an adult and only stabilizes after a few years. In the analysis, only about 800 of these viruses had been found before.
Source: Nature Microbiology via Science Alert
