(27-10-15) Infections in childhood could provide clues to disease development in later life

as presented at the International Conference of the European Respiratory Society


The interaction between infections and the microbiota in the lungs during infancy could help provide clues to disease development later in life, according to the findings of a new study presented at ERS, held in September in Amsterdam.

Investigators from the University Children’s Hospitals in Bern and Basel, Switzerland, found that the interaction of human rhinovirus and the microbiota could aid in prevention of disease or the development of new therapeutic procedures. They studied the association between viral infections in the nose and the nasal microbiota during infancy. They included 32 otherwise healthy infants from the BILD (Basel Bern Infant Lung Development) cohort study and took a nasal swab every other week from the age of five weeks until the age of one year. In each sample, the microbiota and 12 different viruses were analyzed.

Results showed that the bacterial diversity of the respiratory microbiota decreased when infants were infected with rhinovirus and showing symptoms. Conversely, asymptomatic infection with rhinovirus did not lead to reduced diversity of the microbiota. This suggested that when the immune system of the infant reacted with respiratory symptoms towards a rhinovirus infection in the nose, the normal variety of the nasal microbial composition was reduced at the same time.

In addition, infants who experienced more frequent infections in the first year of life, had a lower bacterial diversity overall at the end of the study period, indicating that the normal variety of the microbiota was reduced by recurrent infections.

“Our findings indicate an interaction between rhinovirus infections and the nasal microbiota in early life that persists over time,” said investigator Dr. Insa Korten. “Although our findings need to be confirmed in other cohorts, the interaction of the virus and the microbiota could be of importance in future preventative or therapeutic procedures.”

Source: univadis.it

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