Really interesting study that found a strong relationship between one subpopulation of p. acnes and moderate-severe acne breakouts. The other subpops of p. acnes were not closely related (or not related at all) to acne breakouts, and some strains actually promote health.
The authors also discuss how various strains of p. acnes have been found to be contagious - and can be spread in dermatology clinics or to family members of patients being treated for acne. The authors reach the conclusion that acne is an infectious disease affecting genetically
susceptible individuals.
The results of our study provide a convincing explanation to the long-term controversy on the significance of P. acnes in relation to acne. While some evolutionary lineages of the species are associated with health, others, including an epidemic clone, are strongly associated with moderate to severe acne. The fact that this dichotomy correlates with previously observed differences in the in vitro expression of putative virulence factors strongly support the conclusion that acne is an infectious disease affecting genetically susceptible individuals. The results of the study indicate that particular clones of P. acnes play an etiologic role in acne while others are associated with health.
p_acnes_strain_associated_with_acne.pdf
Fuck this is all we need 'DONT TOUCH HIM YOU MIGHT GET ACNE' wait that already happens.
Yeah, I was thinking that too...
I'll be curious to see where this line of research goes.
Hi there,
I just skimmed through the article and got the impression that what they mean by "acne [being] an infectious disease affecting genetically susceptible individuals.." is not that they think that an acne sufferer touching another individual will pass on this condition, but that acne is an hereditary trait with a part-genetic etiology.
I did not find any mention in the article that acne is "contagious" or "spread in dermatology clinics or to family members of patients being treated for acne", so perhaps we should be wary about what we understand and take from this scientific journal article?
Thanks for the pdf of this article, much appreciated since lots of articles are not available on google scholar and my university subscription has now run out.
Fuck this is all we need 'DONT TOUCH HIM YOU MIGHT GET ACNE' wait that already happens.
Yeah, I was thinking that too...
I'll be curious to see where this line of research goes.
Hi there,
I just skimmed through the article and got the impression that what they mean by "acne [being] an infectious disease affecting genetically susceptible individuals.." is not that they think that an acne sufferer touching another individual will pass on this condition, but that acne is an hereditary trait with a part-genetic etiology.
I did not find any mention in the article that acne is "contagious" or "spread in dermatology clinics or to family members of patients being treated for acne", so perhaps we should be wary about what we understand and take from this scientific journal article?
Thanks for the pdf of this article, much appreciated since lots of articles are not available on google scholar and my university subscription has now run out.
Sometimes skimming the article doesn't give you the full picture of the results. Direct quote from the article, which states:
"The finding of single clones represented by up to 25
isolates from diverse geographic areas collected with 87 years
interval indicates relative genetic stability and shows that some
epidemic clones are capable of successfully spreading in the
human population. This is compatible with the previous
observation that cross-infection with P. acnes strains readily occurs
in dermatological clinics [34] and, thus, presumably wherever
direct or indirect human contact is occurring. Further studies are
needed to evaluate if this ability is restricted to certain clones, as
suggested by our findings, and to determine to what extend such
clones become permanent members of the skin microbiota or are
transient colonizers."
Cross infection between people in dermatology clinics does imply some degree of contagiousness. What they don't know if if those strains that are passed from one person to another actually take up permanent residence on the skin or not. There is another study that showed cross-contamination of drug-resistant strains of p. acnes between family members:
Drug_resistant_acne_runs_in_the_family.doc
Thinking about it. If you touch faces with someone, the bacteria will go onto their/your face and cause acne. But everybody has different skin and i think most people's skin could cope with it better than my own so the contagiousness level is probrably LOW LOW LOW LOW.
According to the researcher's conclusions I cited above, cross infection readily occurs (indicating the contagiousness level is not LOW LOW LOW LOW):
"This is compatible with the previous
observation that cross-infection with P. acnes strains readily occurs
in dermatological clinics [34] and, thus, presumably wherever
direct or indirect human contact is occurring."
I've honestly suspected this for a while 
My roommate this year had pretty decent skin when we met, and seemed pretty self-assured. She went immediately into bragging when we met.
Then she started sleeping in the bed only 3 feet away from me. 1 month later and she's covered in acne...2 months later and it's even worst...
I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm contagious as well, because she hardly comes over and spends most of her time away now. 
Also, I've noticed that the geeky kids in Junior/high school tend to have more acne than the preppy ones. *Retreats back to corner*
