Bronchiolitis, one of the star diseases when the cold comes, is an infection caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and the most frequent cause of hospitalization in children under two years.
It is a disease that is spread very easily, it is practically impossible to prevent its spread, and at present there is no vaccine for the prevention of RSV infection. That is why it is great news to know that the Research Group in Genetics, Vaccines, Infections and Pediatrics (Genvip) of Santiago de Compstela investigates a possible vaccine against bronchiolitis virus.
They discovered certain genes involved in two worrisome infections in childhood: pleural effusion and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and that could explain why some children are more susceptible than others to suffer from these two pathologies.
The main novelty of the studies, as the scientists explain, is that "through genomics we begin to understand the causes that predispose a person to develop an infectious disease and discover elements in the DNA that are giving us very valuable clues to develop new vaccines. "
Respiratory syncytial virus affects 95 percent of children, that is to say that almost all suffer from it at some time, and in some cases there are serious complications, in addition to predisposing to asthma in the future.
It is very good news to know that there is research aimed at finding a vaccine against a virus with a high incidence in children. We will closely follow the developments that are taking place.
