The oral administration of bacterial extracts prevents asthma via the recruitment of regulatory T cells to the airways.

The prevalence of asthma has steadily increased during the last decade, probably as the result of changes in the environment, including reduced microbial exposure during infancy. Accordingly, experimental studies have shown that deliberate infections with live pathogens prevent the development of allergic airway diseases in mice. Bacterial extracts are currently used in children suffering from repeated upper respiratory tract infections.