Bacteria May Play a Role in the Development of Asthma

According to a recent study, bacteria may play a role in the development of asthma. Infants who are infected with one of three bacteria are more than twice as likely as other children to develop asthma by the time they are five. They are also more likely to have other respiratory problems and require hospitalization as infants. Although much research has been done on asthma and what causes it, little is known. This study is monumental because it is the first to find a link between bacterial infection and asthma.

Asthma is a chronic disease that affects the respiratory system. With asthma, the airways of the respiratory system become unusually inflamed. This causes them to be more sensitive. When exposed to allergen, irritants, or infection, the airways react by contracting. Because of this, the lungs get less air and people may experience wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and/or trouble breathing. An asthma attack occurs when asthma symptoms are worse than normal. Asthma attacks are medical emergencies. The severity of asthma varies from person to person. The disease cannot be cured, however, it can be treated. Although asthma is very common, not much is known about what causes it. Asthma is often the focus of research because scientists want to know more about its development.

In the study, researchers evaluated cultures from more than three-hundred babies. The cultures were taken when the babies were all one-month-old and tested for four different bacteria: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, and Staphylococcus aureus. Twenty-one percent of the babies were found to be infected with S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae or M. catarrhalis. Babies infected with one of those bacteria were more than twice as likely to have a persistent wheeze and nearly four times as likely to be hospitalized for wheeze. There was no association found with S. aureus. The researchers also evaluated the prevalence of asthma among the children once they reached five years of age. Thirty-three percent of the children who had been infected with bacteria as infants had asthma. On the other hand, only ten percent of the children who weren't infected as infants had asthma.

It is not known why there seems to be a link between early bacterial infection and asthma. It is definitely possible that bacterial colonization may cause asthma. However, it is also possible that the bacteria colonization is the result of underlying asthma and is as sign of an already susceptible immune system. Basically, bacteria may cause asthma or bacteria may merely be an indicator of the disease. Obviously, more study is needed.

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