Transmission of intestinal microbiota between babies in crèches

An Italian study has measured the proportion of intestinal microbiota that babies pass on to each other at nursery. And it found that after four months, this share had exceeded the share of microbiota inherited from their families. What's more, the study shows that babies pass on some of their new acquisitions to their parents. And that, unlike adults, they also exchanged bacterial strains with the domestic animals with whom they cohabited.