New Respiratory Viruses and the Elderly

Jartti, Laura; Langen, Henriikka; Söderlund-Venermo, Maria; Vuorinen, Tytti; Ruuskanen, Olli; Jartti, Tuomas

A milestone in the diagnostics of respiratory viral infections was the discovery of influenza A virus in 1933 [12] . After the discovery of the coronaviruses in 1965, no new respiratory viruses or significant virus strains were identified in 32 years. The development of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques in the 1990s initiated a new wave in viral diagnostics. The first avian flu epidemic in humans caused by influenza virus H5N1 struck in 1997 and alerted healthcare professionals by its severity [13] . In the same year, a virus family never seen in humans before, was identified: the anellovirus, the torque teno virus (TTV) as a signature virus, was found, but their link to human illnesses *Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Pediatrics, Turku University Hospital, P.O. Box 52, 20520, Turku, Finland; Fax: [phone]; E-mail: has not been clarified [14] [15] [16] . In 2001, human metapneumovirus (MPV) was found followed by the discoveries of other new and significant respiratory viruses and virus strains: the coronaviruses SARS, NL63 and HKU1, the human bocavirus (HBoV), new human rhinovirus (HRV) strains (HRV-C and HRV-D), influenza A virus H1N1, and, as potential respiratory pathogens, the polyomaviruses KI and WU [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] . This review introduces these new viruses and reviews their clinical significance, especially with regard to the elderly population.