Abstract
Background. The risk of developing childhood asthma has been
linked to the severity and etiology of viral respiratory illnesses in early
childhood. Since inner-city infants have unique enviromental exposures, we
hypothesized that patterns of respiratory viral infections would also be
distinct.
Methods. We compared
the viral etiology of respiratory illnesses in 2 groups: a cohort of 515
infants from 4 inner-city areas and a cohort of 285 infants from mainly
suburban Madison, Wisconsin. Nasal secretions were sampled during periods of
respiratory ilnness and at 1 year of age and were analyzed
for viral pathogens by multiplex polymerase chain reaction
journal reference (free): OXFORD JOURNALS >>