At the Microbiology Society’s Annual Conference, researchers have shown that the overall balance of the bacteria on a person’s skin, rather than the presence or absence of a particular bacterial strain, appears to be an important factor for acne development and skin health.

Acne vulgaris is a common skin condition that affects 80%–85% of people at some point in their lives. While acne is a disease of hair follicles on the skin, the exact causes of the condition are unclear. The bacterium Propionibacterium acnes has long been associated with acne, but with P. acnes being the most prevalent and abundant species in the follicle in both healthy and acned individuals, its role in acne has not been well understood.

Researchers, led by Dr Huiying Li, an associate professor of molecular and medical pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, …

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