Prevención de las infecciones respiratorias agudas: Presente y futuro

acute respiratory infections (ari) are the most frequent cause of morbidity and of the high mortality in the world, particularly in the developing countries. the viruses are the most common etiological agents.the influenza a and b viruses and the syncytial respiratory virus (srv) are the most important due to the severity of the disease and to their high transmissibility. the bacteria, mainly streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus), and haemophilus influenzae type b (hib), are the most frequent cause of pneumonias acquired in the community. the general strategies in the prevention and treatment are based on systematically developing the existing knowledge about ari, spreading and applying it, developing a national guide for the indication of antibiotics, using the existing vaccines, that is, dpt, triple viral (srp), anti-hi, increasing the immunization against pneumococcus and the influenza viruses, specially in risk groups, and developing and evaluating new vaccines against srv, non-serotypeable haemophilus influenzae, bortedella pertussis and other infectious agents affecting the respiratory tract. it is made a review of the new antiviral agents and drugs, as well as of the present and future development of immunizations against the main viruses and bacteria causing acute respiratory infections.