Respiratory viruses other than influenza virus: impact and therapeutic advances.

Though several antivirals have been developed and marketed to treat influenza virus infections, the development of antiviral agents with clinical activity against other respiratory viruses has been more problematic. Here we review the epidemiology of respiratory viral infections in immunocompetent and immunocompromised hosts, examine the evidence surrounding the currently available antivirals for respiratory viral infections other than influenza, highlight those that are in the pipeline, and discuss the hurdles for development of such agents.