ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION The respiratory tract is in direct communication with the external environment and offers an accessible portal for infections. Infections of the respiratory tract, upper and lower, are therefore very common and cause much morbidity, leading to around 10% of all consultations in general practice. The vast majority of these infections follow a benign course and patients make an uneventful recovery, while a small proportion, particularly among children, the elderly, and the immunocompromised, run the risk of a poorer outcome. The various infections of the respiratory tract are listed in the schematic diagram below (72).