BACTERIA might be to blame for many cases of asthma. Researchers in Finland
and the US have found evidence that a bacterial protein can trigger the disease,
while another American study has shown antibiotics can help sufferers.
Everything from pollution to excessive hygiene has been blamed for the
dramatic rise in asthma around the world. But a growing number of studies
suggest that Chlamydia pneumoniae, a common cause of lung infections, is
involved in at least some cases.
There is already evidence that diseases such as atherosclerosis are triggered
by bacteria. One theory is that the bugs’ “heat shock proteins”—which…
