Leisha Recently, our local community in Vilcabamba, Ecuador, has been hit with a nasty chest infection that’s been especially tough on the kids. Picture our schools here—mostly open-air classrooms nestled in the valley, surrounded by lush greenery and mountain air. With this latest infection, many children have been diagnosed with bronchitis, pneumonia, and croup, and this time, they’ve been hit hard, taking longer than usual to bounce back. It’s a rough season for families.
Have you ever wondered why some kids (or adults) get sick while others don’t?
We often imagine viruses jumping from person to person, but what if they’re already all around us, just part of the environment? In The Contagion Myth by Thomas S. Cowan and Sally Fallon Morell, the authors propose that viruses aren’t always “caught” from someone else—they’re out there in the breeze through Vilcabamba’s trees, the dust on a school desk, or the moisture in the air, not from past coughs but as a constant presence.
Whether we get sick might depend more on our internal health than on dodging a germ. Our bodies are home to trillions of microbes—the microbiome—that are vital for immunity.
So why do outbreaks pop up in waves here and ripple across the globe? Why do they start, grow, fade, and return—whether we do anything or not?
It’s not always about passing viruses; it’s about who’s vulnerable when they encounter what’s already there, and how their microbiome steps up. Our immune systems and microbes team up naturally, adapting over time. When officials say they’ve “controlled” an outbreak, how much is their work, and how much is our bodies and microbiomes doing the heavy lifting? This rings true for the childhood infections hitting Vilcabamba now. It has been very intense of parents to decide whether or not to give their children antibiotics or not.
Locals notice when kids start coughing, but these waves happen worldwide—think measles in Texas. Whether viruses spread or just hang out in the environment, they rise, fall, and return.
Why? Could our microbiomes be the key?
A Simple Explanation
Let’s talk about how experts try to understand this. They use a number called R0 (“R naught”) to guess how a virus might move through a group if it’s passed from person to person with nothing to stop it. Here’s the basic idea:
- If R0 is 2, one sick kid might get 2 others sick, and it keeps going.
- If R0 is less than 1, it fizzles out because not enough kids pass it on.
That’s the traditional view—sickness as a chain reaction.
But what if we flip it, like The Contagion Myth suggests, and say viruses are already out there—like the scent of eucalyptus in Vilcabamba’s air or the dampness after rain? Then it’s not about who spreads it, but why some kids get sick breathing the same air while others don’t.
The microbiome could be the difference. A healthy one—gut, lungs, skin—trains immunity and stands guard. White blood cells, like B and T cells, learn from meeting a virus: they remember it, build antibodies, and get stronger for next time.
Antibiotics—natural or pharmaceutical—can mess this up, killing the virus (and good bacteria) before white blood cells learn, leaving immunity weaker.
Some kids get sick because their microbiome’s off—maybe from diet—while others thrive, microbes strong. As exposure happens, some recover, their immunity and microbiome toughen up, and fewer fall ill. This shifts things—R0 becomes Rn, a number that drops as our kids’ defenses grow. When Rn dips below 1, the wave fades—not because the virus vanishes, but because our bodies, backed by microbiomes, handle it.
How Much Does the Microbiome Control Immunity?
The microbiome is a big deal—possibly guiding 70-80% of our immune response indirectly. In the gut, bacteria turn food into signals that teach white blood cells what to fight or ignore. In the lungs, microbes keep airways steady, preventing overreactions. A strong microbiome helps white blood cells log viruses and churns out inflammation-soothing compounds. If viruses are always around, a healthy microbiome might be why some Vilcabamba kids stay well. A weak one—hit by sugar, processed foods, or antibiotics—lets viruses take hold. Whole foods—veggies, fruits, fermented chicha—boost it; junk like candy and dead foods (overcooked, lifeless) harm it.
Why Waves Happen
I feel viruses float in the air or settle on benches—not from past coughs, but the environment itself. Some kids get sick—microbiomes weak, white blood cells untrained—while others don’t, their microbes and immunity sharp.
As exposure spreads, those who recover get stronger: white blood cells catalog the virus, ready for round two. Antibiotics stop this learning, slowing recovery. The wave fades as fewer kids can get sick—natural immunity and microbiomes at work. Adults might point to remedies, but it’s often our kids’ bodies figuring it out.
Kids usually bounce back fast—their thymus supercharges immunity, and microbiomes adapt quickly. But this time, they’re lagging. Maybe past generations didn’t pass down robust microbiomes—too much modern food, too many meds. It’s a canary in the cage, signaling our microbial health is slipping.
Why Outbreaks Come Back
Here in Vilcabamba, viruses are always around—part of our air, soil, and water. Each batch of kids faces them fresh, defenses untested. If their microbiomes are strong—from good food and minimal interference—they might cope fine. But if they’re weak—say, from processed diets or antibiotics in the past—more kids get sick when conditions shift, like weather or stress.
This chest infection might be hitting hard now because our kids’ microbial health is off, not because it’s a new wave. It builds until immunity and microbes rally, and the worse our microbiomes get, the tougher these hits feel. It’s a cycle tied to how we nurture our kids, not just a clock resetting.
A strong microbiome is our best defense.
A Simple Plan for Our Community
To help our struggling kids, here’s a Vilcabamba-friendly approach to support immunity and microbiomes, avoiding antibiotics so white blood cells can learn (and skipping antimicrobial herbs since you’re not keen on them):
- Vitamin C (whole, not citric or ascorbic acid): Small doses daily—guava or camu camu—to boost immunity.
- Herbs: Mullein (in herbal markets) for lung support, no germ-killing needed.
- Essential oils: Peppermint and juniper in a diffuser all night
- Fire Cider: Garlic, ginger, ají (chilies) to fire up immunity and microbes—focus on the warming boost, not antimicrobials.
- Bronchial dilator herbs: Eucalyptus (leaves or oil) to gently open airways, licorice root (raíz de regaliz) to soothe and dilate without fighting germs, or ginger (jengibre, fresh and common) to relax breathing passages naturally.
Feed microbiomes with choclo, zapallo, maracuyá, homemade yogurt, or probiotic chicha. Skip sugar, processed snacks, candy, and dead foods—like fried treats—that weaken it.
Let’s rebuild our kids’ microbial strength—it’s our canary’s song.
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