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A long-time microbial inhabitant of the human stomach may protect children from developing asthma.

Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that has co-existed with humans for at least 50,000 years, may lead to peptic ulcers and stomach cancer. Yet, kids between the ages of three and 13 are nearly 59 per cent less likely to have asthma if they carry the bug, the New York University researchers reported on Tuesday in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

“Our findings suggest that absence of H pylori may be one explanation for the increased risk of childhood asthma,” said Yu Chen, co-author of the study.

The survey data showed that only 5.4 per cent of children born in the 1990s were positive for H pylori.

These results – following similar patterns in adults published by Chen and colleagues last year – are based on an analysis of data gathered from 7,412 participants.