Description:
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<jats:title>Background:</jats:title>
<jats:p>Rhinovirus is the most common virus causing respiratory tract illnesses in children. Rhinoviruses are classified into species A, B and C. We examined the associations between different rhinovirus species and respiratory illness severity.</jats:p>
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<jats:title>Methods:</jats:title>
<jats:p>This is a retrospective observational cohort study on confirmed rhinovirus infections in 134 children 3–23 months of age, who were enrolled in 2 prospective studies on bronchiolitis and acute otitis media, respectively, conducted simultaneously in Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland, between September 2007 and December 2008.</jats:p>
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<jats:title>Results:</jats:title>
<jats:p>Rhinovirus C is the most prevalent species in our study, and it was associated with severe wheezing and febrile illness. We also noted that history of atopic eczema was associated with wheezing.</jats:p>
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<jats:title>Conclusions:</jats:title>
<jats:p>Our understanding of rhinovirus C as the most pathogenic rhinovirus species was fortified. Existing research supports the idea that atopic characteristics are associated with the severity of the rhinovirus C-induced illness.</jats:p>
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