Share
Photo: (Photo : Loegunn Lai / Unsplash)
At birth, the immune system is still maturing. A child's interactions with the world-microbes, bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites are vital to development. The infant's newborn system needs to be educated to function properly to determine which foreign bodies are dangerous, which are not, and how to respond to each of them.
The Human Immune System Learns to Categorize Microbes
Microbiologist Sally F. Bloomfield likened the newborn immune system to a computer with limited data hardware and software. During the first years of life, additional data needs to be acquired. With the immune system, this equates to the need for contact with micro-organisms from the natural environment and other humans, The Conversation noted.