Abstract
In many developing countries, populations are under considerable pressure from high bacterial exposure on mucosal surfaces. Immune dysregulation in this setting is multifactorial and is driven by a range of environmental factors, undernutrition and coinfections such as measles, malaria and HIV. Disruption or subversion of respiratory-tract and intestinal epithelial barriers leads to increased invasion by mucosal pathogens and a high frequency of life-threatening bacterial disease. It is our opinion that a process of epithelial barrier dysfunction and immune dysregulation at these mucosal surfaces leads to the much higher rates of pneumonia, meningitis and severe sepsis seen in resource-limited countries.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 487-93 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Trends in Microbiology |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Nov 2010 |
Bibliographical note
Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Keywords
- Socioeconomic Factors
- Bacterial Infections
- Humans
- Immunity, Mucosal
- Developing Countries