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Viruses are the most common cause of lower and upper respiratory infections. During the last decade, detection methodologies and viral isolation and identification technologies have improved, and a single specimen can now be rapidly screened for a large number of respiratory viruses. However, the clinical relevance of viral pathogen detection in asymptomatic children remains unclear.
In a longitudinal, epidemiologic study of respiratory viruses, researchers followed 105 individuals in 26 households on the University of Utah campus during a 52-week period. An adult member of each household kept weekly symptom diaries and collected nasal swabs that were tested for 16 different respiratory viruses. Fifty-six percent of participants were aged <1…