A team of scientists has found a clue to preventing childhood asthma in children who are genetically prone to allergies.
According to the World Health Organization WHO, asthma is an important non-communicable NCD disease that affects both children and adults, but is particularly common in 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 found that avoiding asthma-related triggers can also reduce asthma symptoms in children.
Researchers found that RSV infection with Respiratory Syncytial Virus may set the stage for asthma in children, because the virus appears to trick the developing immune system into exaggerated responses to everyday allergens.
The research results published in Science Immunology indicates this protecting newborn babies from RSV could significantly reduce asthma rates later in life.
The research found that across Europe, 5 to 15% of children live with asthma – a long-term condition that affects everyday wellbeing – and that detecting early asthma symptoms has now become a key health priority.
Professor Bart Lambrecht from Ghent University, Belgium, and senior author of the study, explains: “childhood asthma is a complex disease with many contributing factors.”
Quoting one, he said: “We found that RSV infection in early life and the risk of genetic allergy interact in a very specific way, pushing the immune system toward asthma.”
“The encouraging news is that this process can be prevented,” the professor added.
To evaluate the process, the researchers combined national health registry information from all children from Denmark with controlled laboratory studies and revealed how an early viral infection can increase the impact of hereditary allergy risk.
Belgian researchers from VIB and Ghent University have found strong evidence that RSV infection in young children can develop childhood asthma, especially in children with a family history of allergies, because the allergen-specific antibodies passed from parents to their newborns act more quickly.
Co-senior author Professor Hamida Hammad VIB informed: “With RSV prevention now becoming widely accessible, we have an opportunity to improve long-term respiratory health.”
“This is not just a laboratory insight. It is a message that should help parents choose RSV prevention with confidence.”
In addition, the study was supported by the European Research Council.
Professor Bart said: “This is a moment where policy, science and paediatricians can come together, and the benefits for families and healthcare systems could be enormous.”
Furthermore, the topic of asthma is also included in the WHO Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
