Common Cold and Flu-like Illness

Acute viral upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) is the most frequently observed infectious disease for which patients visit their primary health care provider. Children may have six to eight URTIs per year and adults may experience two to four episodes per year. In the majority of cases, URTI is caused by respiratory viruses such as rhinovirus, coronavirus, parain uenza, in uenza, respiratory syncytial virus, adenovirus, enterovirus or metapneumovirus.

The common cold is a syndrome of familiar symptoms caused by viral infection of the upper respiratory tract. Early symptoms of the cold include headache, sneezing, chilliness and sore throat, with later symptoms including nasal discharge, nasal obstruction, cough and malaise. These symptoms result in lost productivity and healthcare resource use.