Reply to Kloepfer and Gern: Independent studies suggest an arms race between influenza and rhinovirus: What next?

It was very interesting to learn about Kloepfer et al.’s study investigating the link between asthma and influenza A H1N1 infection incidence and severity (1). Their finding that influenza A virus (IAV) infections reduced the subsequent risk of infection with human rhinoviruses (HRVs) was contrary to theories at the time of a reverse directionality (2, 3). However, as Kloepfer and Gern (4) state in their Letter, it is certainly consistent with our recent large-scale study on respiratory virus–virus interactions (5). Our study primarily aimed to provide statistical evidence for interactions … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: pablo.murcia{at}glasgow.ac.uk. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1