Respiratory diseases may be caused by infection, by smoking tobacco, or by breathing in secondhand tobacco smoke, radon, asbestos, or other forms of air pollution. Respiratory diseases include asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary fibrosis, pneumonia, and lung cancer.

Respiratory Illnesses and Diseases

• Asthma

• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

• Chronic Bronchitis

• Emphysema

• Lung Cancer

• Cystic Fibrosis/Bronchiectasis

• Pneumonia

There are two types of respiratory diseases and disorders: infectious and chronic. Pulmonary infections are most commonly bacterial or viral. In the viral type, a pathogen replicates inside a cell and causes a disease, such as the flu. Chronic diseases, such as asthma, are persistent and long-lasting.

COPD, asthma, acute lower respiratory tract infections, TB and lung cancer are among most common causes of severe illness and death worldwide.