Ghlamydia/MycopIasma Do They Cause New-Onset Asthma in Adults?

The origins of adult-onset asthma are obscure. Five to six decades ago, some clinicians believed that asthma was primarily related to infection and that allergy, while important, played a secondary role (1,2). A decade ago, expert opinion held that asthma was a noninfectious allergic disease whose root cause was inflammation (3). Since then a growing body of evidence, reviewed in this book, has emerged to suggest again a significant role for viral and atypical infections in the pathogenesis of asthma. Regarding the atypical organism Chlamydia pneumoniae (Cpn), Chapter 23 reviews the evidence that acute Cpn infection is associated with asthma exacerbations and Chapter 24 presents evidence relevant to a potential role for chronic Cpn infection as an asthma promoter. The focus of this chapter is on a third question about atypical infections and asthma: can these infections cause (initiate) new-onset asthma in adulthood?