Beneficial Bacteria in the Respiratory Tract Helps to Recover from Common Cold

Researchers want to find out how natural bacteria in the respiratory responsible for quick recovery from the common cold (which is a viral infection). They also want to find out why infants who suffer from lot of cold symptoms are more at risk to develop asthma in their later life. 

 They have found that the infants with a wide variety of bacteria in their nose are more likely to recover faster from the first cold attack.  The dwellers of the respiratory tract are a variety of bacteria influence our respiratory health says Dr. Roland P Neumann from University Children's Hospital, Basel. 

The swabs from 167 infants were taken as soon as the infants developed the first sign of the cold and then again three weeks later.  The researchers assess the swab and assorted the different type of bacteria and virus present in the respiratory tract.  They also had taken into account other factors, which includes the season, age, siblings, attending nursery or whether they had been exposed to cigarette smoke. 

The publication in ERJ Open Research concluded that babies who had a variety of different bacteria living in their nose tend to recover faster from the first viral illness in the respiratory tract.  Those who have less variety and more of Moraxellaceae or Streptococcaceae type recover more slowly.  

There are two types of bacteria in the respiratory tract, beneficial that offers some protection against infection and harmful bacteria that worsens the symptoms.  They have also some relation between the respiratory symptoms in babies in the first year of age and asthma that develop in them in their school age.  They need more researches to understand the relationship between the different types of bacteria, respiratory viral infections and long-term lung health.