Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2006 May;100(5):775-84.
doi: 10.1016/j.rmed.2005.08.025. Epub 2005 Nov 9.

Respiratory infections and asthma

Girolamo Pelaia  1 , Alessandro Vatrella, Luca Gallelli, Teresa Renda, Mario Cazzola, Rosario Maselli, Serafino A Marsico
Affiliations
Review

Respiratory infections and asthma

Girolamo Pelaia et al. Respir Med. 2006 May.

Abstract

Respiratory tract infections caused by both viruses and/or atypical bacteria are involved in the pathogenesis of asthma. In particular, several viruses such as respiratory syncytial virus, rhinovirus and influenza/parainfluenza viruses may favour the expression of the asthmatic phenotype, being also implicated in the induction of disease exacerbations. Within this pathological context, a significant role can also be played by airway bacterial colonizations and infections due to Chlamydiae and Mycoplasms. All these microbial agents probably interfere with complex immunological pathways, thus contributing to induce and exacerbate asthma in genetically predisposed individuals.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. National Institutes of Health Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma-update on selected topics, 2002. National asthma education and prevention program, Bethesda (MD) J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2002;110:S141–S218. - PubMed
    1. Hartert T.V., Peebles R.S., Jr. Epidemiology of asthma: the year in review. Curr Opin Pulm Med. 2000;6:4–9. - PubMed
    1. Cohn L., Elias J.A., Chupp G.L. Asthma: mechanisms of disease persistence and progression. Annu Rev Immunol. 2004;22:789–815. - PubMed
    1. Lemanske R.F., Jr. Is asthma an infectious disease?: Thomas A. Neff Lecture. Chest. 2003;123:385S–390S. - PubMed
    1. Cookson W.O., Moffatt M.F. Asthma: an epidemic in the absence of infection? Science. 1997;275:41–42. - PubMed