Hygiene doesn't harm immune development

A new report says it’s the modern home environment - rather than the way we clean it - that matters...
14 July 2021
Presented by Phil Sansom, Chris Smith
Production by Phil Sansom.

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A question we’re being asked quite a lot is whether the extra lengths we’re going to in terms of hygiene to protect us from COVID-19 might cause us immune problems later because we’re living lives that are too clean. This is the basis of what’s dubbed the “hygiene hypothesis”. But a report out this week says that, actually, it’s the environment we’ve created - rather than the way we clean it - that matters, because modern living conditions and building materials select for the wrong sorts of microbes. Microbiologist and author of the report, Graham Rook, spoke to Chris Smith...

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