Viral Infections and Asthma Development in Childhood
Summary
Respiratory viruses are established triggers of wheezing and are implicated in the pathogenesis of childhood asthma. Early life infections with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) or rhinovirus can damage the airway epithelium, skew immune responses towards type 2 inflammation and promote airway remodelling. In susceptible children—often those with a family history of atopy or impaired antiviral immunity—viral insults may drive recurrent wheeze that evolves into persistent asthma. The interactions between viral pathogens, host genetics, airway microbiota and environmental factors such as allergen exposure determine clinical trajectories. Prevention or modification of early viral infections therefore presents a promising opportunity to reduce the global burden of paediatric asthma.
Research from Nature Portfolio
No recent Nature Portfolio content available.
Viral Infections and Asthma Development in Childhood publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in viral infections and asthma development in childhood across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Atopy: Genetic predisposition to develop IgE-mediated allergic responses.
Bronchiolitis: Inflammation of the small airways, typically caused by viral infection.
Tissue-resident memory T cell: A specialised T lymphocyte that remains in non-lymphoid tissues after infection to provide rapid local immunity.
Aeroallergen sensitisation: Immune system priming against airborne substances such as pollen or dust mites, detectable by skin or blood tests.
References
- Rhinovirus as a driver of airway T cell dynamics in children with treatment-refractory recurrent wheeze. JCI Insight (2025).
- Risk factors and prognosis of recurrent wheezing in Chinese young children: a prospective cohort study. Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology (2019).
- Respiratory viral infection in early life and development of asthma in childhood. Medicine (2019).
Turn complex research questions into confident strategic decisions
When you're under pressure to set direction, justify investment, or understand your competitive position, you need more than raw data — you need trusted insights you can act on.
Benchmark your performance against global peers using robust, methodologically sound analysis.
Combine quantitative metrics with qualitative expert insight to uncover strengths, gaps and emerging opportunities.
Gain tailored, decision-ready recommendations aligned to your strategic priorities.
Talk to us to learn more about our data dashboards and bespoke strategy reports.
Grow research skills, confidence and careers with training built for every stage of the research lifecycle.
Developed with Nature Portfolio journal Editors and internationally renowned experts. Discover three ways to learn:
Self-paced, online courses in convenient bite-sized units, covering key skills across scientific writing, publishing, grant writing, data analysis, and more.
Expert trainer-led workshops with hands-on exercises and real-time feedback across core research skills, delivered via interactive group sessions.
Editor-led workshops combining core principles in writing and publishing, personalised 1:1 feedback from Nature Portfolio Editors and hands-on exercises.
Explore course catalogues and workshop agendas, enquire about the options or request institutional pricing.