Respiratory viruses are a major cause of early childhood illness, hospitalization and death around the world. Work by a team that includes a researcher at Â鶹ÃÛÌÒAV’s (COPH) could lead to countless lives saved.
New findings published in scientific papers summarize a 10-year project known as INFLUMI, according to co-author , PhD, a professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences and a member of the Â鶹ÃÛÌÒAV COPH . Calvo collaborated with researchers around the world along with the renowned Gorgas Memorial Institute for Health Studies in Panama.
Calvo has focused much of her research on maternal and child health issues globally. Young children in low- and middle-income countries are particularly vulnerable to lung diseases, and if not treated early, the effects can linger into adulthood.
“We’re learning more about the impact of respiratory diseases, heavy metals and other factors on cognitive, psychomotor, language and the behavior development of children,’’ Calvo said about the INFLUMI project, which centered on the long-term cohort of maternal and child health in both Panama and El Salvador.
INFLUMI stands for Influenza Materno Infantil (maternal and child in Spanish). The name was changed it to INFLUMIKA when the mosquito-borne Zika virus appeared in Brazil and other Latin American countries in 2015, unexpectedly affecting the research work. The next year, the World Health Organization declared Zika a public health emergency of international concern, in part because of its impact on pregnant individuals and their unborn children.
(Photo courtesy of Calvo)
Since 2004, Calvo has been part of the college’s Panama program at the City of Knowledge, an academic and technology park in that Latin American country. She also leads the graduate concentration and , an initiative launched during the COVID-19 pandemic to improve health outcomes by promoting language-accessible resources, outreach programs, education campaigns and research to address health issues in Spanish-speaking countries.
The INFLUMI studies were published in the journals Gynecology Obstetrics and The Lancet. With funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. through a collaborative agreement a team of researchers focused on 2,500 pregnant individuals and their offspring, hoping to better understand the relationship between illness and other problems during pregnancy and lower cognitive scores by the affected children.
“During pregnancy, we measured respiratory illnesses, domestic violence, nutrition and environmental/social factors affecting the pregnancy and birth outcomes,’’ Calvo said. “The main goal was to follow-up the children, but we needed to understand the pregnancy context first.’’
(Photo courtesy of Calvo)
The studies concluded that acute respiratory illnesses and fevers during infancy were associated with lower cognitive scores. Children with influenza illnesses during the first year of life scored lower in their second cognitive tests than those without influenza, although it is not clear if these children will catch up to their peers after two years of age.
While exploring the associations between influenza and cognitive development, researchers might bring new insights in the development of vaccines and antiviral treatments. A second phase of the cohort included heavy metal, vision, auditory and behavioral measurements at schools and homes of the children, including interviews with teachers and parents of the now nine-year-old children.
“The reason this study is important,’’ Calvo added, “is because it helps us translate into real-life situations the impact that disease, social and external factors may have on pregnancy outcomes and a child’s development.’’