Innate immunity decreases pathogen diversity during infection

Infection can be defined as a life - threatening competition between two organisms for a given ecological niche. In the context of human life, an ongoing competition exists with bacteria, which outnumber us globally by a factor >10 20 (1). This competition is inevitable, as many bacteria can thrive in similar environments as humans and can utilize similar nutrient sources. When these two organisms vie for such resources, the competition can manifest itself clinically, in the form of infection. Such competitions favor those that are more numerous and multiply fastest—the bacteria. When coupled with the fact that bacteria are not a single entity