Key Message
Pediatric asthma patients showed enhanced signs of airway
hyperresponsiveness at 1 versus 3 months post hospital discharge. This
study also used mouse models of asthma-disposed mice to test whether
pandemic or seasonal strains of the influenza could enhance airway
hyperresponsiveness. The pandemic A(H1N1)pdm09 strain significantly
worsened airway inflammation and function compared to the seasonal flu,
although these effects were limited to the acute phase at 7 days post
infection. By 10 days post infection, the resolution phase was reached
and differences between groups of mice infected with different influenza
virus strains were negligible. In summary, our study indicates that
acute influenza infection can exacerbate asthma phenotypes, particularly
pandemic strains that cause severe immunopathology.