Infections of the airways

The major developments in the area of infections of the airways include unraveling the complexities of the host response to infection, greater knowledge of host defense-bacterium interactions, and greater realization of the interaction between bacterial and viral agents. The host inflammatory response to infection is the major cause of airways injury, and may come to act against the interests of the host. In chronic infection it is clear that bacterial mechanisms of great subtlety act to neutralize and exploit host defense processes to enhance the maintenance of infection. Greater understanding of such mechanisms may lead to newer approaches of managing and preventing such infections.