ABSTRACT
A number of studies have shown that childhood wheeze is often associated with viral respiratory tract infections (16-19). Subjects on their first visit to a clinic because of wheezing often present with rhinorrhea, nasal congestion, mild fever, cough, and other features of viral upper respiratory tract infection. A significant proportion of these children will develop recurrent episodes of wheeze, and some will become atopic and develop airway hyperresponsiveness and asthma following the initial viral illness. The factors that determine the prognosis and further progression or remission of the disease relate to both intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics. Intrinsic host factors will determine a subject's ability to limit the clinical response to a viral infection to no symptoms or only local signs of infection, such as rhinorrhea and sneezing, or to extend the response to the lower respiratory tract and other organ systems. Extrinsic factors, which may be attributable to different virus species or to environmental conditions, will further determine a subject's outcome.
