BABIES given antibiotics during their first six months are far more likely to develop asthma, according to a US study. The reason is not clear, but the team says antibiotics might be partly responsible for the steady rise in asthma cases.
In many western countries the incidence of asthma has nearly doubled in the past two decades, with up to 7 per cent of children suffering. There is no shortage of theories: everything from ozone to the gas produced when people pee in chlorinated pools has been blamed.
A handful of studies blame antibiotics, but most are suspect because they…
