“In 1850, 1 in 4 American children died before their first birthday.” It is largely thanks to antibiotics that in the last half century most parents in developed countries can safely raise their children; Major surgical operations became possible; the risk of bacterial infections has decreased. However, the abuse of antibiotics, including their use as growth promoters in animals, has led medicine to a dead end. The bacteria have already acquired a resistance gene to the last of the formally effective antibiotics, the professional medical journal Lancet points out. Microbiologist Martin Blaser uses real examples from his 30 years of practice to show: what helps pathogenic microbes spread and is there a way to avoid contact with them; how to protect yourself from infections after the collapse of antibiotics; what diseases can be gotten rid of by restoring healthy microflora, and when probiotics are needed. Previously, the book was published under the title “Bad bacteria, good bacteria. How to boost immunity and defeat chronic diseases by restoring microflora"