The aim of the present paper is to explore whether seasonal outbreaks of infectious diseases may be linked to changes in host microbiomes. This is a very important issue, because one way to have more control over seasonal outbreaks is to understand the factors that underlie them. In this paper, I will evaluate the relevance of the microbiome as one of such factors. The paper is based on two pillars of reasoning. Firstly, on the idea that microbiomes play an important role in their hosts’ defence against infectious diseases. Secondly, on the idea that microbiomes are not stable, but change seasonally. These two ideas are combined in order to argue that seasonal changes in a given microbiome may influence the functionality of the host's immune system and consequently make it easier for infectious agents to infect the host at certain times of year. I will argue that, while this is only a theoretical possibility, certain studies may back up such claims. Furthermore, I will show that this does not necessarily contradict other hypotheses aimed at explaining seasonal outbreaks; in fact, it may even enhance them.

中文翻译：

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季节性微生物组变化是否会影响感染易感性，从而导致季节性疾病爆发？

本论文的目的是探讨传染病的季节性爆发是否可能与宿主微生物组的变化有关。这是一个非常重要的问题，因为更好地控制季节性爆发的一种方法是了解其背后的因素。在本文中，我将评估微生物组作为此类因素之一的相关性。该论文基于推理的两个支柱。首先，关于微生物组在宿主抵御传染病方面发挥重要作用的观点。其次，关于微生物组不稳定，但会随季节变化的想法。这两个想法结合起来是为了论证给定微生物组的季节性变化可能会影响宿主的功能 s 免疫系统，因此使传染性病原体在一年中的某些时候更容易感染宿主。我会争辩说，虽然这只是一种理论上的可能性，但某些研究可能会支持这种说法。此外，我将证明这并不一定与旨在解释季节性爆发的其他假设相矛盾；事实上，它甚至可以增强它们。