A world without... microbes

Ebola virus, H1N1, tuberculosis, cholera, botulism, listeriosis, malaria, nosocomial infections... For decades, viruses, bacteria, and other parasites have regularly made humanity tremble. Microbes are feared and fought relentlessly by the authorities and the scientific community. The objective: to defeat all these pathogenic micro-organisms that take up residence in our bodies and destroy our health. Everywhere, we vaccinate, we give antibiotics, we disinfect, we sterilize... This relentless struggle extends far beyond the medical field - where it is of course indispensable. Over the last two centuries, countless hygiene measures have played a fundamental role in the radical decrease in infant mortality and infectious diseases. And now, in our Western societies, life is increasingly sanitized. But is this a good thing? If nobody wants to protect the tuberculosis bacillus or the polio virus, are all microbes dangerous?