
Kids who were infected with respiratory syncytial virus, better known as RSV, in their first year may be at greater risk for asthma, according to researchers. Their new study looked at the effects of RSV infections of different severities on childhood asthma risk. “For 60 years investigators have repeatedly identified the link between severe RSV and asthma; however, we’ve shown that this link is explained in part by shared heredity to both severe RSV and asthma,” said senior author Dr. Tina Hartert, director of the Center for Asthma and Environmental Sciences Research at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. “The solution in our study was to understand the link between RSV and asthma by ensuring all RSV infections would be captured using molecular techniques and post-season serology,” she said in a university news release. Nearly all children have been infected with RSV by age 2, the researchers pointed out. RSV is the leading cause of bronchiolitis, a lower respiratory tract infection with coughing and wheezing in infants and young children. Symptoms are mild in most kids and usually last a week. However, RSV infection can lead to serious illness and death, especially in premature or very young infants and those with chronic lung disease or congenital heart disease. RSV is the most common cause of hospitalizations worldwide due to respiratory issues in the first year of… read on > read on >