Study Explores How Common Respiratory Infections Protected Kids from Covid

New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) – A new study suggests that frequent respiratory infections from viruses and bacteria may have strengthened children’s immune systems, helping them avoid severe effects of Covid-19.

Children are generally more prone to respiratory infections like the common cold compared to adults. However, the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus, which caused the Covid-19 pandemic and resulted in millions of deaths worldwide, had a less severe impact on children. This led to fewer hospitalizations and deaths among kids during the pandemic.

Researchers at Yale University in the US conducted a study where they re-examined over 600 nasal swabs taken from children during the pandemic. They checked these samples for 19 different respiratory viruses and bacteria and measured the levels of antiviral and inflammatory proteins produced by the body’s innate immune system.

The findings, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, revealed that many children, even those without any symptoms, were infected with respiratory pathogens other than SARS-CoV-2. This was particularly true for younger children, with about 50 percent of asymptomatic kids under five years old showing signs of other viruses or bacteria.

The study found that children with higher levels of respiratory pathogens also had higher levels of nasal innate immune activity. This was observed in both toddlers and teenagers. The research suggests that frequent infections with relatively harmless pathogens, like the rhinoviruses that cause the common cold, keep their innate immune system active.

–IANS

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