Air pollution, even of short duration, increases respiratory infections

Air pollution, even of short duration, increases the number of lower respiratory infections, a new study reports, and the effects may be particularly serious in young children. 

Acute respiratory infection of the lungs and airways, usually caused by viruses, are a leading cause of illness and death in young children.  

The study, in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, tracked 146,397 people, 77 per cent of them children younger than two years of age, who had infections treated in hospitals and clinics in Utah. 

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