What viruses cause viral bronchitis?

Viral infections, like coming down with a viral cold, that is, influenza, are one of the causes of viral pneumonia and bronchitis. Inflammation of the upper respiratory tract from a viral infection can easily trigger viral bronchitis and other lung inflammation. The specific viruses include respiratory influenza virus, parainfluenza virus, and respiratory syncytial virus, coronavirus, rhinovirus, adenovirus, and others, among which the influenza viruses are the most likely to cause viral bronchitis or viral pneumonia.

Influenza viruses are a very stubborn group of viruses, so they can become epidemic, and both their contagiousness and their attacking power are very strong. They also take advantage of a sudden drop in temperature, when the blood vessels of the respiratory tract constrict or even spasm and defensive function declines, to accelerate the progression of the illness, so after the onset of influenza, both children and young people will develop a high fever within a short time, and it can easily turn into viral bronchitis or pneumonia within two or three days.

Influenza virus

Respiratory syncytial virus, also called PNA virus, belongs to the family Paramyxoviridae and is most likely to attack infants and young children. It spreads and infects through airborne droplets and close contact, with an incubation period of at most 7 days. After it invades the human body and causes viral bronchitis, the symptoms are also most severe in infants and young children. In the early stage there is a high fever, rhinitis and other upper respiratory tract inflammation, which then quickly turns into viral bronchitis or pneumonia, and some infants and children are also prone to complications such as otitis media, pleurisy and myocarditis.

Of the coronaviruses in the family Coronaviridae, 15 different coronaviruses have now been discovered. Most cause disease in general mammals and birds, and a small number can make people ill. After a person is infected with a coronavirus and becomes ill, it is mostly respiratory tract inflammation, and severe respiratory syndrome is also likely to occur, such as the 2003 atypical pneumonia, that is, SARS, which at its root came from a coronavirus mutation. Moreover, this virus thrives and spreads in high-temperature environments, but it can suppress and eliminate rhinovirus.

Avian influenza virus

As many as 120 species of rhinovirus have been discovered so far, which can be said to be the virus with the most serotypes among human viruses. After people are infected, colds and other upper respiratory tract inflammation appear first; the common cold, for example, is mostly caused by rhinovirus, and then as it progresses it can trigger viral bronchitis, pneumonia and other serious diseases. Moreover, rhinovirus is present all year round, so about half of colds and cases of viral bronchitis are caused by rhinovirus. Compared with rhinovirus, adenovirus attacks the respiratory system, and its power to cause viral bronchitis in people is very weak.