Elias Hakalehto, PhD, Adj. Prof.

Microbiologist, Biotechnologist

CEO and inventor, Finnoflag Oy,Kuopio, Finland (1993-)

Founder of the Environmental Section(1983) of the Student Union of Helsinki University

An Alumnus of the UniversityCollege London, U.K. (Biochemical Engineering)

Vice President (Europe andAfrica), International Society of Environmental Indicators

Lifetime Fellow Member,International Society of Development and Sustainability (Japan)

(Published on the 22rd ofJanuary 2024)

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Unfortunately, it is a common misbelief that microbes, particularly bacteria, are "evil creatures". They should be kept out at any cost. This is almost instinctive for many of us. - However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that some contacts with environmental microbes are protective against, e.g. autoimmune disease.

Since the microbes maintain ecosystems and their cycles of nutrients, their roles in modern agriculture and crop improvement are most obvious. Correspondingly, microbial strains in industrial processes have provided sustainable, viable alternatives for producing energy, chemicals and fertilizers out of various biomasses and side streams.

A tiny proportion of micro-organisms are considered harmful. Many of them keep up the balance wherever they may be located. The occurrences of the numerous bacterial, algal, mould, yeast or protozoan species are most versatile. Microbes constitute one of the fundamental entities of living organisms, plants, and animals. With their presence and functions, ecological balances could prevail.

The main issue or problem is often having the "wrong bacteria or microbes in the right place" or the "right bacteria in the wrong place". Because of the small dimensions of the microbial unit organisms, we need help figuring out their multitudes or actual numbers. For example, in a spoonful of yoghurt, there may be as many cells of beneficial lactic acid bacteria as humans on Earth.

The concept of fighting against or hunting the microbes often derives from the objective of trying to avoid all contact with them "to be on the safe side". However, this ultra-hygienic or sterile environment leads to ineffective or dysfunctional biological solutions. For example, the studies conducted by Dr. Inger Kühn and coworkers of the Karolinska in Stockholm, Sweden, evidenced some 40 years ago that more diverse ambient normal flora in the hospital environment hindered or attenuated the dominance of hazardous pathogens or otherwise harmful microbes. 

More than ten years ago, we published some views on the more or less permanent human microflora (Alimentary Microbiome - a PMEU Approach, Nova Science Publishers, Inc., N.Y., ed. E. Hakalehto). It turned out most clearly that two of the most decisively adequate guarantees for a healthy human system were the balanced and adequately diversified microbiota of the digestive tract and respiratory epithelia and the microbes on the skin or elsewhere. Regarding the close cooperation of the microbiome with human digestion, we designate this delicate state of balance the Bacteriological Intestinal Balance (BIB).

Then, what is the purpose of viruses? They are not considered genuine "microbes" because they have no metabolism. In that sense, they could be regarded as parasitic entities. 

Nevertheless, regardless of their taxonomic or pseudo-taxonomic position, viruses and giruses (gigantic viruses) have several crucial roles in regulating ecosystemic balances or human health. Please take a look at my previous blog articles.

As a sum-up of our short comparative evaluation, we could consider the necessity of enhanced hygienic control and microbial security on the one hand and the bolstering and broadening of a vast technology base by the microbes on the other.

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