Persistent Pathogens: Then and Now

Throughout human history, persistent pathogens have lived with us. Capable of quietly dwelling within their hosts for years, these microorganisms have shaped not just our health, but also our approach to medicine and hygiene through the ages. At CoRE, we are working in collaboration with the PolyBio Research Foundation to advance our current understanding of the root causes of persistent pathogens and antibiotic resistance, as well as inform novel treatment strategies.

What is a persistent pathogen? Let's break down the terminology. A pathogen is a disease causing organism, and persistent means something that is prolonged, or is sustained over a long period of time. Thus, persistent pathogens are disease causing organisms that are sustained for long periods of time in our bodies.

When it comes to persistent pathogens, it is important to understand that these are microorganisms that can remain dormant in a host for extended periods of time, post-infection, without causing any symptoms. However, when triggered by certain factors such as stress or weakened immunity, they can become active and cause symptoms. It can be difficult to find persistent pathogens as they often do not reside in our blood, but rather "hide out" in other parts of our bodies.

As of the time of this blog post, the current ways to identify persistent pathogens involve directly sampling the tissue that it is suspected to be hiding in, however, we hope to play a role in advancing testing methods in detecting persistent pathogens.