Collectivités : lieu de rencontre virale

Brouard, J.; Vabret, A.; Dina, J.; Lemercier, H.

It is well known that young infants attending day-care centers are subjected to repeated infectious episodes, with a tendency to involve the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts. Their long-term impact is difficult to assess because there are few relevant prospective studies. The risk of infection is influenced in part by the structure of the day-care center, and it is more important in the early months of attending and linked to later recurrent infectious episodes. Causal links between viral infection and asthma are complex. Viral infections increase the risk of asthma exacerbation but the presence of asthma also increases the risk of severe responses to a viral infection. While infections acquired in this environment are mainly viral, their recurrence can lead to excessive use of antibiotics which promote antimicrobial resistance with an impact on the digestive or respiratory microbiota.