Intestinal microflora and bacterial overgrowth in early life.

Abstract

At birth the gut is sterile but later is continually exposed to potentially harmful agents: infective, toxic, and antigenic. The development of a strictly contained intestinal microflora reflects an important aspect of control over potentially noxious, environmental influences. Control of the intestinal microecology is dependent on many factors including intestinal peristalsis, the intraluminal environment, and microbial interactions. When these regulating mechanisms are lost, microbial contamination of the gut occurs and leads to the so-called "contaminated small-bowel syndrome." This has serious clinical consequences, including diarrhoea and malabsorption, and can occur in a wide range of clinical situations in infants and young children.