Abstract
Biofilms associated with health can be approached from three different points of view (Costerton et al., 1987). Firstly, biofilms can be distinguished which are directly associated with tissue surfaces in the body. These biofilms in the healthy body occur for example in the oral cavity both on teeth as well as on the oral mucosa, but also in the digestive tract and in the female genital tract. These “normal” biofilms may have a role in the prevention of certain infections (Embery et al., 1991, Reid et al., 1990). However, in these habitats pathogenic microorganisms are able to overgrow this “normal” biofilm. Further areas in the body where pathogenic biofilms may develop are the airway and urinary tract (see Table 1 for a summary).
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Neu, T.R., van der Mei, H.C., Busscher, H.J. (1992). Biofilms Associated with Health. In: Melo, L.F., Bott, T.R., Fletcher, M., Capdeville, B. (eds) Biofilms — Science and Technology. NATO ASI Series, vol 223. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1824-8_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1824-8_3
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