Abstract

The aim of the present paper is to explore whether seasonal outbreaks of infectious diseases may be linked to changes in host microbiomes. This is a very important issue, because one way to have more control over seasonal outbreaks is to understand the factors that underlie them. In this paper, I will evaluate the relevance of the microbiome as one of such factors. The paper is based on two pillars of reasoning. Firstly, on the idea that microbiomes play an important role in their hosts' defence against infectious diseases. Secondly, on the idea that microbiomes are not stable, but change seasonally. These two ideas are combined in order to argue that seasonal changes in a given microbiome may influence the functionality of the host's immune system and consequently make it easier for infectious agents to infect the host at certain times of year. I will argue that, while this is only a theoretical possibility, certain studies may back up such claims. Furthermore, I will show that this does not necessarily contradict other hypotheses aimed at explaining seasonal outbreaks; in fact, it may even enhance them.

Highlights

  • The widespread belief that some diseases have a seasonal character has been with us at least since antiquity, as Hippocrates himself noted this tendency.[1]

  • What do we really mean when we say that infectious diseases are characterised by seasonality? Not that all infectious diseases peak in a host population at the same time, but rather that the infectious agents that cause diseases in a host population are characterised by their own seasonal windows of intensified occurrence in a host population

  • In this paper I argued that seasonal changes in microbiomes may contribute to seasonal outbreaks of infectious diseases

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Summary

Introduction

The widespread belief that some diseases have a seasonal character has been with us at least since antiquity, as Hippocrates himself noted this tendency.[1] Currently, we know that seasonal illnesses may be caused by agents, such as influenza viruses, which infect a much greater number of people during winter,[2,3,4] corresponding to the popular expression “flu season.”. These seasonal diseases can be caused by non-infectious factors.

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