ASCARIS AND BRONCHIAL ASTHMA IN CHILDREN

Abstract

Skin tests with the Ascaris antigen were carried out in 270 children with bronchial asthma and 220 controls. Faecal and sputum specimens were also examined for helminths. Twenty-seven per cent of the asthmatic children had positive reactions to the Ascaris antigen compared with 8% of controls (P<0.001). The positive reactions were, however, not related to the sex of the patients, severity of asthma, the presence of Ascaris ova in the faeces or the blood eosinophil counts. Larvae of helminths were not found in sputum specimens examined. While the present study indicates a possible association between Ascaris and asthma in children, further studies, including provocation tests and controlled anthelmintic drug trials, are required to confirm, as well as elucidate this association. It is however, suggested that routine screening for helminthiasis be undertaken in asthmatic children in the tropics and deworming carried out in those with positive results