Lactic acid bacteria and respiratory health: their beneficial effects on viral infections

Abstract

Respiratory viral infections are a major global public health problem and despite the development of vaccines and antiviral drugs, these infections continue to cause frequent morbidity, and severe outcomes including death, especially in developing countries. Therefore, more research is necessary to expand the options for preventing or treating respiratory viral infections. In this regard, research from the last decade has proved that beneficial microbes with the ability to modulate the immune system (immunobiotics) are an interesting alternative to improve the resistance against respiratory infections. This chapter describes the current knowledge of the positive effects of immunobiotic lactic acid bacteria on the modulation of respiratory antiviral immunity and their impact on the susceptibility to viral infections. Studies have demonstrated that the mucosal priming (oral or nasal stimulation) with immunobiotics is able to improve the resistance against respiratory viruses including Influenza Virus and Respiratory Syncytial Virus. Moreover, it was recently reported that the modulation of the antiviral immune response by immunobiotics could also reduce the severity of secondary bacterial respiratory infections.