Grant: Joint Canada-Israel Health Research Program

Bronchiolitis obliterans (BO) is a rare chronic lung disease that follows an injury to the respiratory tract, resulting in scaring and breathing problems. In children it is called Post-Infectious BO (PIBO) with the most common cause a viral infection. Viral infection in most people does not result in this complication. Identifying children at risk of developing PIBO early could improve outcomes by enabling treatment before scaring has occurred and potentially preventing long term health problems. Differences in genes may explain why some children develop PIBO and others do not. When examining patient populations around the world, PIBO seems to be more common in the southern hemisphere and it is more frequent in native indigenous populations than in European-origin populations who live in the same areas. While it happens in other countries, more cases have been found in the South American countries Argentina, Chile and Brazil . Our research aims to address this gap in knowledge and understand why some children develop PIBO and others do not. We will bring together a group of experts across South America, Israel and Canada recruiting people with PIBO and those who did not develop PIBO. We will describe their characteristics and identify the genes that may be responsible so that we can uncover the causes of PIBO. Beyond PIBO, this project will develop a platform to find causes of infection related lung diseases. This will help to understand the interplay between viruses and the individual's immune system in the lungs. While diseases such as PIBO are rare, the family of infection-related lung diseases that have a genetic cause is large and are found more frequently in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). This collaborative study in partnership with countries where PIBO is more common will increase capacity for diagnosis and treatment, which is especially important for LMIC countries facing the difficult challenge of prioritizing medical resources.