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Researchers investigated the prevalence of viral respiratory infections and acute otitis media (AOM) in a prospective cohort of 367 healthy infants born between 2008 and 2014 in Texas. Infants were closely followed until the first episode of AOM or up to 12 months; 311 (85%) completed the study. Nasopharyngeal swabs were obtained for bacterial culture and viral polymerase chain reaction assays monthly for the first 6 months and at 9 months.
By 12 months, the prevalence of upper respiratory infection (URI), AOM, and lower respiratory infection was 3.2, 0.67, and 0.24 per child-year, respectively. By 12 months, 46% of infants had at least one episode of AOM, nearly all within 28 days after an episode of URI (average time to diagnosis after URI…