Saliva can identify the severity of recurrent respiratory infections in children

If saliva contains too few broadly protective antibodies, a child is more likely to suffer from pneumonia episodes.

The report, published in the European Respiratory Journal by Radboudumc Amalia Children's Hospital and UMC Utrecht Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, revealed that saliva testing can provide valuable information for treatment and is more comfortable for children.

Around 10 to 15 per cent of all children suffer from recurrent respiratory infections. When they visit the hospital, blood is drawn to search for antibody deficiencies as an underlying condition. However, this rarely yields useful results.

Lilly Verhagen, paediatric infectious disease specialist and immunologist at Radboud University Medical Centre, said, “This is challenging for paediatricians because we really want to help the children.