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Characterisation of the lung microbiota in patients with asthma

Allergies, and in particular asthma, are increasing in incidence in developed nations. This growing asthma epidemic has been attributed to improved sanitation and overuse of antibiotics, which in turn affects proper immune development. Recent studies have shown that the normal development of our immune system is dependent on having a healthy population of bacteria in our gut. The lungs also contain a population of bacteria, and we think that it is possible that a similar situation may occur in the respiratory system, whereby the bacteria in the the lung influence the development of a normal functioning immune system in the lungs and hence protection against asthma. This project will look at the population of bacteria that are present in patients that have asthma and compare this to healthy people. We anticipate that there will be differences in the bacteria between the two groups and that this may be linked to the presence of asthma in these patients.