3.1.2 Changes in Social Interactions
School and university closures across the world have affected more than
1.5 billion students during 2020.30 Asthmatic children
may have benefited from this intervention, as exposure to other
respiratory viruses such as influenza, RSV and RV was also reduced. Even
though the relationship between influenza and asthma is still ambiguous31, respiratory viruses such as RSV and RV are known
risk factors for initiating and exacerbating paediatric asthma21,22. Although it is difficult to quantify changes in
social interactions at the community level, a reduction was inevitable
following the imposition of social distancing measures in many
countries, contributing to the decreased prevalence of influenza, RSV
and RV infections during the implementation of these containment
strategies 9,32,33, and the reduced morbidity of
children with asthma. However, the reported lower incidence of other
viral infections may have been amplified by reduced health seeking
behaviours as a result of fears to visit healthcare services created by
the pandemic.