Respiratory pathogenic microbial infections: a narrative review

Abstract

Respiratory infectious diseases have long been recognised as a substantial global healthcare burden and are one of the leading causes of death worldwide, particularly in vulnerable individuals. In the post COVID-19 era, there has been a surge in the prevalence of influenza virus A and other multiple known viruses causing cold compared with during the same period in the previous three years, which coincided with countries easing COVID-19 restrictions worldwide. This article aims to review community-acquired respiratory illnesses covering a broad spectrum of viruses, bacteria, and atypical microorganisms and focuses on the cluster prevalence of multiple known respiratory pathogens in China, thereby providing effective prevention and control measures.