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The common cold is often caused by the rhinovirus. It is one of the most widespread illnesses and is a leading cause of visits to the doctor and absence from school and work. Complications of the common cold include ear infection, sinusitis and exacerbations of reactive airway diseases. There is no proven treatment for the common cold. However, an even ...

Bacterial meningitis is an infection of the fluid in the spinal cord and surrounding the brain. Antibiotics are prescribed as treatment. Supportive care includes other drugs and the regulation of fluid intake. Despite treatment, there is a risk of death or long-term complications from the infection, especially in the youngest and oldest patients. There ...

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is a major cause of acute respiratory infections in children. RSV infection can lead to morbidity and mortality in children, resulting in hospitalization, admission to an intensive care unit, the need for intensive medical therapies and death. Most infected children suffer little consequence. However, children ...

The common cold is a self limiting viral infection of the upper respiratory tract, characterised by a runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, cough, malaise, with or without sore throat, and a slightly elevated temperature. Treatment is symptomatic. Vaccines for preventing the common cold have been difficult to produce because the sources and antigens ...

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria. Over two billion people worldwide are believed to be latently infected with TB and approximately 10% of these people will develop active TB later in life. The World Health Organization currently only recommend treatment with fluoroquinolones for patients who cannot ...

Respiratory syncytial virus is a virus which commonly causes lung infections in infants and children. Although cases in most children are not severe, children with cystic fibrosis may be at higher risk for severe respiratory syncytial virus lung infections. Children with cystic fibrosis are more likely to require hospitalisation and experience deterioration ...

We decided to update and amalgamate our reviews on the antiviral drugs zanamivir and oseltamivir for influenza on the basis of the manufacturers' reports to regulators (called clinical study reports) and regulators' comments (which we called regulatory information). Clinical study reports are extensive documents with exhaustive details of the trial ...

Acute bacterial meningitis is a life-threatening illness. Currently the evidence suggests that old and new antibiotics offer the same level of treatment. Bacteria which cause meningitis are often thought to be resistant to conventional (older) antibiotics, and so doctors often prescribe newer antibiotics (called third generation cephalosporins). Commencing ...

Over 200 viruses cause influenza and influenza-like illness which produce the same symptoms (fever, headache, aches and pains, cough and runny noses). Without laboratory tests, doctors cannot tell the two illnesses apart. Both last for days and rarely lead to death or serious illness. At best, vaccines might be effective against only influenza A and ...

Pneumonia is the leading cause of mortality in children under five years of age. Most cases of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in low-income countries are caused by bacteria. This systematic review identified 29 randomised controlled trials from many different countries enrolling 14,188 children and comparing antibiotics for treatment of CAP in children. ...