Identification and seasonality of rhinovirus and respiratory syncytial virus in asthmatic children in tropical climate

Abstract

Introduction: Asthma is a disease that has been associated with the presence of different genetic and socioenvironmental factors. Objective: To identify and evaluate the seasonality of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human rhinovirus (RV) in asthmatic children and adolescents in tropical climate, as well as to assess the socio-economic and environmental factors involved. Methods: The study was conducted in a referral hospital, where a total of 151 children were recruited with a respiratory infection. The ISAAC protocol and a questionnaire were applied, and a skin prick test was performed. The nasal swab was collected to detect RV and RSV through molecular assay. INMET database was the source of climatic information. Results: The of socio-environmental characterization of asthmatic children showed that the family history of allergy, disturbed sleep at night, dry cough, allergic rhinitis, individuals sensitized to at least one mite. We identified RV in 75% of children with asthma and 66.7% of RSV in children with asthma. There was an association between the presence of RV and the dry season whereas the presence of the RSV was associated with the rainy season. Contributing to these results, a negative correlation was observed between the RSV and the wind speed and the maximum temperature and a positive correlation with precipitation. Conclusions: The results suggest a high prevalence of RV and RSV in asthmatic children and the seasonality of these viruses were present in different climatic periods. This has significant implications for understanding short- and long-term clinical complications in asthmatic patients.

Breastfeeding duration modified the effects of neonatal and familial risk factors on childhood asthma and allergy: a population-based study

“…Similar to previous studies [2,17,19,[27][28][29], we found that family history of allergy was strongly associated with increased OR of childhood asthma and allergic diseases. Longer breastfeeding duration could reduce these ORs.…”

Breastfeeding duration modified the effects of neonatal and familial risk factors on childhood asthma and allergy: A population-based study

“…Similar to previous studies [2,17,19,[27][28][29], we found that family history of allergy was strongly associated with increased OR of childhood asthma and allergic diseases. Longer breastfeeding duration could reduce these ORs.…”

Understanding Rhinovirus Circulation and Impact on Illness

“…RV is a globally circulating virus, with many RV sequences being found on several continents and communities at the same time [58,59]. As indicated by their seasonality and exchange in prevalence of RVA and C species, there is a rapid turnover in RV subtypes over a short period of time.…”

“…The increased accessibility of sequencing and typing has facilitated RV detection. This led to the discovery of RV-C, and eventually to a 2010 proposal to classify RVs based on their genetic homology (subtypes) rather than by their serum reactivity (serotypes) [52,58,110,151]. Using sequence identity thresholds for type assignment rather than physical and chemical properties of the virus has contributed to the facilitation of studies aiming to understand RV diversity in clinical respiratory samples.…”