A team of scientists has found a clue to preventing childhood asthma in children genetically prone to allergies.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), asthma is a major noncommunicable disease, affecting both children and adults, but especially common among children.
According to a report published in 2019, more than 262 million people were affected by asthma, causing 455,000 deaths.
Since then, medical experts have discovered that avoiding asthma-related triggers can also reduce asthma symptoms in children.
Researchers have found that infection with the respiratory syncytial virus RSV may set the stage for childhood asthma because the virus appears to skew the development of the immune system toward exaggerated responses to everyday allergens.
The research results published in Scientific immunology indicates that Protecting newborns from RSV could significantly reduce asthma rates later in life.
The study found that 5-15% of children in Europe live with asthma – a long-term condition that affects everyday well-being – and that finding the early symptoms of asthma has now become a major health priority.
Professor Bart Lambrecht from UGHent, Belgium, and lead author of the study, explains: “Childhood asthma is a complex disease with many contributing factors. »
Citing one of them, he said: “We found that early RSV infection and genetic allergy risk interact in a very specific way that pushes the immune system toward asthma. »
“The encouraging news is that this process can be avoided,” added the professor.
To evaluate the process, researchers combined information from Denmark’s national health registry of all children with controlled laboratory studies and revealed how early viral infection can amplify the impact of hereditary allergy risk.
Belgian researchers from VIB and Ghent University have found strong evidence that RSV infection in young infants can develop childhood asthma, particularly in children with a family history of allergies, because allergen-specific antibodies passed from parents to their newborns act more quickly.
Professor Hamida Hammad VIB, co-lead author, informed that “with RSV prevention now becoming widely accessible, we have the opportunity to improve long-term respiratory health.”
“This isn’t just a lab test. It’s a message that should help parents choose RSV prevention with confidence.”
Additionally, the study was supported by the European Research Council.
Professor Bart said: “This is a moment when policy, science and paediatricians can come together, and the benefits for families and health systems could be huge. »
In addition, the topic of asthma is also included in the WHO Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
