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BABIES who receive antibiotics before they reach six months may be 70% more likely to develop asthma.

One course of drugs in the first few months raises the risk by 40%, but a second treatment boosts this to 70%, a study claims.

Previous studies have linked antibiotics to asthma but scientists have disagreed over whether the children may have developed the condition anyway.

Latest research from Yale University in the US claims taking the drugs early is more risky, even if the child does not come from an ­asthmatic family. Experts blamed the medication – often prescribed to treat child chest infections – for interfering with the balance of microbes which would normally defend against illnesses.

About 1.1 million UK children have asthma, with more boys affected than girls. The scientists studied 1,400 children given antibiotics before the age of six months to see if they developed asthma before they turned six years old.

Research leader Dr Kari Risnes said: “Our study should encourage doctors to avoid unnecessary antibiotic use, especially in low-risk children.”