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British Medical Bulletin 68:95-112 (2003)
© The British Council 2003; all rights reserved

Air pollution and infection in respiratory illness

Anoop J Chauhan* and Sebastian L Johnston{dagger}

* Department of Respiratory Medicine, St Mary’s Hospital, Portsmouth and
{dagger} National Heart and Lung Institute & Wright Fleming Institute of Infection & Immunity, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK

Correspondence to: Anoop J Chauhan, Consultant Respiratory Physician, Department of Respiratory Medicine, St Mary’s Hospital, Milton Road, Portsmouth PO3 6AD, UK. E-mail: anoop.chauhan{at}porthosp.nhs.uk

The detrimental effects of air pollution on health have been recognized for most of the last century. Effective legislation has led to a change in the nature of the air pollutants in outdoor air in developed countries, while combustion of raw fuels in the indoor environment remains a major health hazard in developing countries. The mechanisms of how these pollutants exert their effects are likely to be different, but there is emerging evidence that the toxic effects of new photochemical pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide are likely to be related to infection. This review discusses the relationship between air pollution and infection and will explore some of the mechanisms of how both could act synergistically to cause respiratory illnesses especially in exacerbating symptoms in individuals with pre-existing respiratory conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.


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