Resumen

VALERO, Nereida et al. Contribución del virus sincicial respiratorio y bacterias a la presencia de asma en una población adulta . INCI [online]. 2005, vol.30, n.6, pp.46-55. ISSN 0378-1844.

The Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is one of the most important causes of respiratory tract illness in infants and preschool children. RSV has been pointed out as a risk factor in the onset of bronchial asthma in pediatric patients, but its role in adult asthma is controversial. This study attempts to determine the presence of RSV antigen and bacteria in asthmatic adults of Zulia state, Venezuela. Pharyngeal swabs were obtained from 196 adults (143 asthmatics in crisis and 53 non-asthmatic). The RSV antigen was determined by the ELISA technique and the presence of bacteria by conventional bacteriological techniques. Asthmatic patients showed an RSV incidence of 42,65%, while viral antigens were not detected in the control group. As for the presence of bacteria, the asthmatic individuals presented a higher percentage (84,15%) of pathogenic bacteria like the Streptococcus pyogenes and Escherichia coli than the non-asthmatic group (p<0.001), where such bacteria were isolated in 47,2% of the swabs. The RSV incidence in asthmatic patients implies that this virus may play an important role as a risk factor in the pathology of bronchial asthma. The increased presence of pathogenic bacteria in the microflora of the pharynx of the asthmatic patients could be due to the alteration of the bronchial tract, a common feature in these patients, and thus be another predisposing factor to this illness.

Palabras clave : Asma; Bacterias; Virus Sincicial Respiratorio .