• epidemiology
• virology

Autumn is characterised by an increase in asthma and wheeze attacks in children. Important contributory factors include transmission of respiratory viral infection as children go back to school, variable adherence to asthma medications during the summer holidays and changes in the weather.1 Significant reductions in wheeze and asthma attacks were reported during the ‘first COVID-19 pandemic wave’.2 Rhinovirus (RV) is the leading cause of acute respiratory infections and wheeze attacks in children and adults, but influenza virus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) also contribute to severe winter respiratory illnesses.

Winter 2019, pre-COVID, was a UK NHS disaster for young children. At times, we actually ran out of paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) beds. What then is the winter of 2020 going to look like for children, parents and healthcare providers with regard to respiratory infections in children? The data from the southern hemisphere countries Australia, South Africa and Chile showed significant reduction in influenza infection in the winter of 2020. Out of the 80 000 samples tested for influenza in …