DO WE KNOW RHINOVIRUSES AND THEIR CLINICAL IMPACT?

Abstract

Acute respiratory infections cause significant morbidity and mortality even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Pandemic restrictions decreased circulation of many respiratory viruses but some less troubling infections such as common cold are still circulating. One of the most frequent causative agents of common cold are rhinoviruses. The fact that these pathogens have been able to slip through anti-COVID preventive measures raises the question of whether we really know this group of viruses and whether these viruses cause only common cold. The clinical impact of rhinoviruses seems to be underestimated. In searching of an answer how rhinoviruses have slipped through the anti-COVID precautions we referred to the work of infectious disease specialists, virologists and epidemiologists -much of it conducted decades before the current pandemic. A non-systematic search of the literature is performed. Some of the latest findings on rhinoviruses along with basic knowledge on their biology and clinical impact are summarized in this review.