Abstract
Introduction: Asthma is a disease that has been associated with the presence of different genetic and socio-environmental 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 socioeconomic 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 International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (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. National Meteorological Institute (INMET) database was the source of climatic information.Results: The socio-environmental characterization of asthmatic children showed 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 (T. Max) 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.
Highlights
Asthma is a disease that has been associated with the presence of different genetic and socio-environmental factors
The present study aims to identify and evaluate the seasonality of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human RV in asthmatic children and adolescents in tropical climate, as well as to assess the socioeconomic and environmental factors involved
The data of meteorological parameters, including maximum daily, average and minimum temperature (◦C), wind speed, relative humidity (%) and precipitation [17] were obtained from the National Meteorological Institute (INMET) between April 2018 and March 2019, the same period as the systematic collection of samples from patients in the study
Summary
Asthma is a disease that has been associated with the presence of different genetic and socio-environmental factors. 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. In Brazil, asthma is the fourth cause of death caused by respiratory diseases, and according to data from the Pan American Health Organization, Brazil has more than 15 million people with asthma [3]. This pathology is the result of the interaction of genetic, immune, and environmental factors. The mechanism by which RSV exacerbates asthma is associated with the T-cell response characterized mainly by Th2 cytokine production, the same response observed during asthma episodes
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