title: Asthma: a chronic infectious disease?
abstract: There are increasing data to support the "hygiene" and "microbiota" hypotheses of a protective role of infections in modulating the risk of subsequent development of asthma. There is less evidence that respiratory infections can actually cause the development of asthma. There is some evidence that rhinovirus respiratory infections are associated with the development of asthma, particularly in childhood, whereas these infections in later life seem to have a weaker association with the development of asthma. The role of bacterial infections in chronic asthma remains unclear. This article reviews the available evidence indicating that asthma may be considered as a chronic infectious disease.
authors.affiliation: Section of Respiratory Diseases, Department of Medical Sciences, Centro per lo Studio delle Malattie Infiammatorie Croniche delle Vie Aeree e Patologie Fumo Correlate dell'Apparato Respiratorio, University of Ferrara, via Savonarola 9, 44121, Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Caramori
authors.forename: Nikos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Papadopoulos
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Contoli
authors.forename: Brunilda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Marku
authors.forename: Giacomo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Forini
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pauletti
authors.forename: Sebastian L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Johnston
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Papi
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000382:microbiology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000382:microbiology