Dear Colleagues,

Childhood asthma prevalence is increasing despite considerable improvements in its management. A major problem in asthma prevention is the lack of understanding of how this condition evolves into a chronic disease that can potentially persist beyond childhood. Longitudinal studies have identified a developmental “window of opportunity” for asthma in early life (<3 years), in which environmental insults may determine airway remodeling and persistence of lung function defects through adulthood. Importantly, viral respiratory infections (i.e. rhinovirus and RSV) are not only the leading cause of infant wheezing (bronchiolitis) and asthma exacerbations in children, they are also the most important environmental factor linked to persistent chronic asthma. Indeed, rhinovirus-induced wheezing illnesses during the first three years of life are associated with a ten times increased risk of asthma beyond childhood. Accordingly, there is a great need to investigate the pathobiology and clinical consequences of viral respiratory illnesses in the pediatric population.

This special issue in Children will act as a forum to discuss and share knowledge about incompletely understood or controversial areas in the field of viral-induced wheezing and asthma during childhood. Both reviews and original research contributions will be considered for publication.

We look forward to receiving your contributions!

Dr. Gustavo Nino
Dr. Geovanny Perez
Dr. Carlos Rodriguez-Martinez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• wheezing
• pediatric asthma
• bronchiolitis
• viruses
• rinovirus
• RSV