Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Global health

Probiotic prevents infections in newborns

Nature volume 548, pages 404–405 (2017)Cite this article

Subjects

A major cause of death and disease in babies is the failure of their developing immune systems to block life-threatening infections. A clinical trial reports that the use of a probiotic can help to prevent such infections. See Article p.407

Infections continue to be a considerable cause of death and disease among infants in low- and middle-income countries1. Newborns are susceptible to infection because key parts of their immune systems are still developing and not fully functional, particularly in premature babies (born at less than 37 weeks of gestation) and those with a low birth weight2,3. Also of concern is a response to infection that results in a condition known as sepsis, in which widespread inflammation and a compromised blood circulation can result in devastating organ and tissue injuries3 and impairments to growth and development. On page 407, Panigrahi et al.4 report the results of a clinical trial conducted in rural India to assess whether feeding newborn infants with preparations of health-promoting bacteria can prevent serious bacterial infections and sepsis.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: A clinical trial to prevent sepsis.

Notes

  1. See all news & views

References

  1. http://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-compare

  2. Goenka, A. & Kollmann, T. R. J. Infect. 71 (Suppl. 1), S112–S120 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Shane, A. L., Sánchez, P. J. & Stoll, B. J. Lancet https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31002-4 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Panigrahi, P. et al. Nature 548, 407–412 (2017).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Gibson, G. R. & Roberfroid, M. B. J. Nutr. 125, 1401–1412 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Dermyshi, E. et al. Neonatology 112, 9–23 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Rao, S. C., Athalye-Jape, G. K., Deshpande, G. C., Simmer, K. N. & Patole, S. K. Pediatrics 137, e20153684 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. GBD 2015 Mortality and Causes of Death Collaborators. Lancet 388, 1459–1544 (2016).

  9. Ballard, O. & Morrow, A. L. Pediatr. Clin. N. Am. 60, 49–74 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Panigrahi, P. et al. J. Pediatr. Gastroenterol. Nutr. 47, 45–53 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/254502/1/WHO-MCA-17.01-eng.pdf

  12. The Young Infants Clinical Signs Study Group. Lancet 371, 135–142 (2008).

  13. Seale, A. C. et al. Lancet Infect. Dis. 14, 731–741 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Budden, K. F. et al. Nature Rev. Microbiol. 15, 55–63 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics and the Center for Healthcare Policy and Research, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, 95817, California, USA

    Daniel J. Tancredi

Authors
  1. Daniel J. Tancredi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniel J. Tancredi.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author has received research support and consultation fees from the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics, a non-profit scientific society.

Related links

Related links

Related links in Nature Research

In Retrospect: Global health estimated over two decades

Population health: Immaturity in the gut microbial community

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Tancredi, D. Probiotic prevents infections in newborns. Nature 548, 404–405 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature23540

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature23540

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing