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Children infected with 'RSV' virus three times as likely to wheeze in early childhood

August 20, 2002

Young children who wheeze are three times as likely to be infected with RSV, a common respiratory virus and only half as likely to have influenza virus as children with a cold but no wheeze, suggests research in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

The evidence shows that wheezing affects around one in every two children up to the age of 6 years, but it has been thought that infection with influenza was the likely trigger.

Researchers studied 173 children who had been treated by their family doctor or an emergency medicine physician for respiratory infection and severe wheezing, during two consecutive winters.

They also studied a comparison group of 106 children who had a respiratory infection but no wheezing. Nose and throat swabs were taken to find out if they had influenza or RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). Altogether, 43 children had flu and 58 children had RSV.

Young children who wheezed were three times more likely to be infected with RSV, but only half as likely to have flu as children with a cold but no wheeze. If anything, flu actually seemed to protect children from wheezing. Children with flu were older - over 3 years compared with just over 2 years - more likely to have been treated by their family doctor, and half as likely to have severe wheeze.

There were no differences in family history of asthma and allergy or exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, factors known to be associated with wheezing.

The authors conclude that flu is not a strong trigger for wheezing, unlike RSV.

British Medical Journal (BMJ)