Infectious diseases are the most common pathology in childhood. Our group is focused on the study of pediatric infections with special attention to those associated with viruses from a multidisciplinary point of view and with the application of metagenomics techniques to the knowledge of these infections and the study of the host's immune response.
Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) of the lower respiratory tract are the most common in humans and account for at least 4 million deaths annually in the world. A significant proportion of them occur in children. In our country, ARIs are the most frequent cause of hospitalization in children under 2 years of age. By applying metagenomics to the design and development of diagnostic techniques for ARIs, we aim to increase knowledge of viral infections in children of all ages, hospitalized or outpatients. Metagenomics can allow us to recognize new viruses and deepen our knowledge of existing ones. Any new technological development and its application to respiratory infection will mean an improvement in the diagnosis of these infections and will be immediately applied to resolve public health alerts in respiratory infections such as MERS-CoV, avian flu or influenza. other flu pandemics. The pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 and the COVID-19 disease in children has occupied a large part of our group's research since its appearance.
We are also interested in the study of the child's immune response to viral infections and the mechanisms that allow the subsequent development of recurrent wheezing and asthma (the most common chronic pathology in childhood).
Emerging viral infections also play an important role in childhood pathology. Recently picornaviruses, especially human parechovirus and enterovirus, are causing epidemics of severe neurological infections causing morbidity and mortality. They are being associated with a wide range of pathologies that range from febrile syndromes to respiratory, neurological and systemic symptoms. In newborns, these infections can be serious and even fatal. Surveillance of these polio-like diseases is also a cause of concern for public health and is one of the objectives of our group.
Finally, studying infections in vulnerable and high-risk groups of children who are often the most forgotten (newborns, chronic lung disease, immunodeficient, cancer patients...) is also a priority for our group. In this sense, we have recently included a line of zoonoses and other emerging infections such as invasive fungal infection.