ABSTRACT
Acute respiratory disease (ARD) accounts for an estimated 75% of all acute morbidities in developed countries and the majority of these infections are viral. Upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) such as rhinitis, pharyngitis, and laryngitis, are among the most common infections in children, occurring 3-8 times per year in infants and young children with the incidence varying inversely with age, young children having the higher frequency [1,2]. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Vital Statistics Report indicates that there are between 12 and 32 million episodes of URTI each year in children aged 1-2 years [1]. URTI can lead to acute asthma exacerbations, acute otitis media, and lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) such as bronchitis, bronchiolitis, and pneumonia. Acute viral respiratory tract infection is the leading cause of hospitalization for infants and young children in developed countries and is a major cause of death in developing countries [2,3]. In clinical practice a specic virus is often not identied, due to the lack of sensitive tests and/or the presence of an as-yet unidentied virus [4,5].
