The relationship between respiratory syncytial virus and asthma

Abstract

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the lung that is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children worldwide. Most infants who experience wheezing episodes also exhibit evidence of an ongoing respiratory viral infection. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract infection in children and is a common cause of wheezing in infants and young children. In the past several decades, a number of studies have demonstrated a relationship between infants with severe RSV infections and the subsequent development of asthma later during childhood. This review provides an overview of data that suggests a severe RSV infection early in childhood is linked to development of asthma later in life. In addition, the current and potential future use of various animal models to gain additional insight into the relationship between RSV and asthma is discussed.

Keywords: Th17 cells; Th2 cells; animal models; asthma; bronchiolitis; immunoregulation; respiratory syncytial virus; wheezing.