Inuit children need a breath of fresh air

Compared with non-Aboriginal children, Aboriginal children are known to suffer more frequent and more severe lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI), but little is known about the epidemiology of such infections in Canadian Inuit children. In response, Anna Banerji and colleagues studied cases of LRTI in Inuit infants admitted to the Baffin Regional Hospital and found an annual incidence rate of 484 per 1000 infants under 6 months old. Probable pathogens were identified in 18 of the 27 cases considered in the study, and a single agent was identified for 14 infants: 8 had respiratory syncytial virus, 2 adenovirus, 1 rhinovirus, 1 influenza A, 1 parainfluenza 3 and 1 had cytomegalovirus. Four infants had 2 infectious agents. The authors state their findings suggest that LRTI in Inuit infants is an important health challenge in this population and that host and environmental factors may contribute to the severity of their illness. "The infants in this study were [all] exposed to a substantial amount of cigarette smoke in utero and after birth, and they lived in crowded conditions. The reduction of exposure to cigarette smoke is essential for a population that is already compromised due to respiratory illness.�

Lower respiratory tract infections in Inuit infants � A. Banerji et al