Rhinovirus C causing bronchiolitis and recurrent wheeze

Rhinovirus infection in early life is associated with higher risks of developing recurrent wheeze and asthma but little is known about longitudinal associations of rhinovirus C infection during infancy with subsequent morbidities Hasegawa K et al. (JAMA Pediatr. 2019;173(6):544–552 doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.0384) have examined a cohort of 716 infants who were hospitalised for bronchiolitis and compared with respiratory syncytial virus infection, rhinovirus C infection was associated with a higher risk of developing recurrent wheeze by age 3 years. Infants with rhinovirus C infection and IgE sensitisation (to food or aeroallergen) in infancy had 3-fold higher risks of recurrent wheeze while those without sensitisation had no significant differences. In this multicentre prospective study of infants younger than 1 year who were hospitalised for bronchiolitis in 17 USA hospitals between 2011–2014, 541 (76%) had bronchiolitis with RSV only, 85 (12%) had rhinovirus A, 12 (2%) had rhinovirus B, and 78 (11%) had rhinovirus C infection. Overall, 231 (32%) developed recurrent wheeze by age 3 years. Compared with infants with RSV-only infection, the risk of recurrent wheeze was not significantly different in those with rhinovirus A or B. Infants with rhinovirus C had a significantly higher risk (HR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.08 to 2.32). There was a …