URGENCY

Chronic respiratory diseases, especially asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are an enormous and growing burden on society, in terms of disability and premature mortality. In the EU these chronic disorders cause, besides a severe impact on quality of life, a financial burden of an estimated €380 billion annually (1).  Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a genetically diverse common respiratory virus that infects nearly all infants before the age of 2 years. Strong epidemiological data link respiratory RSV infections to asthma development (4). The molecular and physiological mechanisms of how these viral infections cause and contribute to asthma development are unknown thus hampering prevention and therapeutic approaches.