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Updated: Aug 8, 2026
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Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction-based Analyses of Murine Intestinal Microbiota After Oral Antibiotic Treatment
Published on: November 17, 2018
Early-Life Antibiotic Exposure Disrupts Bifidobacterium in Infants: A qPCR-Based Cohort Study
Dina Mohammed Abdel-Hady1, Mayada Sabry Zeid1, Eman Hamdy Mohamed2
1From the Pediatric Department-Faculty of Medicine.
The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal
|August 7, 2026
Summary
Early antibiotic exposure significantly reduces Bifidobacterium levels in infants, disrupting gut microbiome development. This highlights the need for careful antibiotic use and strategies to restore microbial balance in early life.
Area of Science:
- Microbiome research
- Pediatric health
- Antibiotic stewardship
Background:
- Early infancy is crucial for gut microbiome development, with Bifidobacterium species playing key roles.
- Antibiotic exposure during this period may negatively impact microbial development.
- Limited quantitative data exist on the long-term effects of early-life antibiotics on the gut microbiome.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of systemic antibiotic exposure within the first six months of life on Bifidobacterium abundance.
- To utilize quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for precise measurement in a prospective infant cohort.
Main Methods:
- Seventy healthy term infants were prospectively followed from birth to six months.
- Stool samples were analyzed using qPCR to quantify Bifidobacterium genus levels.
- Infants were grouped into antibiotic-exposed (n=27) and non-exposed (n=43) cohorts for comparison.
Main Results:
- Antibiotic-exposed infants showed significantly lower Bifidobacterium levels at 1, 3, and 6 months compared to non-exposed infants (P < 0.001).
- Non-exposed infants exhibited a typical increase in Bifidobacterium from 1 to 3 months, while exposed infants showed a decline from 1 to 6 months (P = 0.009).
- Clinical factors like delivery mode or feeding type did not predict Bifidobacterium levels in exposed infants.
Conclusions:
- Antibiotic exposure in early infancy causes persistent suppression of Bifidobacterium, hindering normal gut microbiome maturation.
- These findings emphasize the importance of judicious antibiotic use in infants.
- Strategies to restore gut microbial balance post-antibiotic therapy are needed.
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