Probiotics as therapeutics for the developing world

Abstract

Although described for over a century, scientists and clinicians alike are only now beginning to realize the significant medical applications of probiotics. While probiotic research in the developed world has received significant attention in recent years, the potential for probiotics in the developing world has remained relatively unexplored. This review focuses on the most recent advances in the application of probiotics as potential therapeutics for the developing world; from the treatment of chronic and acute enteric infections, and their associate diarrhoeal complexes, to the development of designer probiotics for controlling HIV and as novel mucosal vaccine delivery vehicles.

Keywords

• probiotics
• patho-biotechnology
• infection control
• vaccination