Human rhinoviruses

Abstract

Human rhinoviruses (HRVs) are a pervasive cause of upper respiratory tract infections that occur throughout life. The impracticality and insensitivity of early culture-based diagnostic methods resulted in the misconception that compared to influenzavirus and RSV, HRVs had a relatively minor role in illness. HRVs are the most common cause of acute respiratory tract illness globally, infecting both upper and lower respiratory tract tissues. In addition to the majority of cold and flu-like illness, HRVs also cause more asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations than any other agent identified to date. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.