Rhinovirus Infection

Infectious Disease MONDO:0005709 Show in embeddings browser Viral Respiratory Infection

Rhinovirus infection is an acute respiratory infection caused by human rhinoviruses (HRV; genus Enterovirus, family Picornaviridae; groups A, B, and C). HRV is the most common cause of the common cold, responsible for more than half of cold-like illnesses, and infects the respiratory epithelium after binding host receptors (major-group HRV uses ICAM-1; minor-group uses LDL-receptor family members; HRV-C uses CDHR3). Although traditionally regarded as an upper respiratory tract pathogen, HRV is now recognized as an important lower respiratory tract pathogen, particularly in people with asthma, infants, the elderly, and immunocompromised hosts. Wheezing rhinovirus illnesses in early life are among the strongest predictors of subsequent childhood asthma, and HRV is the most frequent viral trigger of asthma and COPD exacerbations.

Ask OpenScientist

Ask a research question about Rhinovirus Infection. OpenScientist will conduct autonomous deep research using the Disorder Mechanisms Knowledge Base and PubMed literature (typically 10-30 minutes).

Submitting...

Do not include personal health information in your question. Questions and results are cached in your browser's local storage.

1
Pathophys.
5
Phenotypes
1
Medical Actions
1
Subtypes
3
Datasets
◆

Subtypes

1
Rhinovirus C infection
Infection with rhinovirus C, the species that earns a row of its own on two documented axes. On diagnosis, RV-C does not grow in the cell lines that recovered RV-A and RV-B, which is why it was not recognised until molecular methods arrived and why its classification rests on sequence rather than on culture; propagating it in vitro takes a cell line made to express CDHR3. On presentation, several independent paediatric series report a higher frequency of wheezing and of asthma exacerbation with RV-C than with the other two species, and the receptor it uses, CDHR3, is itself a childhood asthma susceptibility gene product. That presentation difference is not settled: it is recorded here with the contrary evidence beside it, because one surveillance cohort found species did not affect most clinical outcomes and a review of the earlier reports found well-designed studies in which RV-A and RV-C lower-respiratory illness looked alike. Neither axis changes management, which is supportive for every species.
Show evidence (6 references)
PMID:23297263 SUPPORT Other
"HRV-C strains do not grow in standard cell culture, likely postponing their discovery"
The diagnosis-axis difference that distinguishes this species from RV-A and RV-B, under rule R7. Evidence source is OTHER as this is a review.
PMID:25848009 SUPPORT In Vitro
"We report here that expression of human cadherin-related family member 3 (CDHR3) enables the cells normally unsusceptible to RV-C infection to support both virus binding and replication."
Identifies the distinct receptor this species uses, which is both the reason it is unculturable in ordinary lines and the mechanistic link to the asthma association. The experiment is receptor transfection into cell lines, so evidence_source is IN_VITRO.
PMID:20693244 SUPPORT Human Clinical
"Children with HRVC (n = 76) had higher asthma severity scores than children whose HRV infection was HRVA or HRVB only"
A direct within-cohort comparison of this species against the other two on asthma exacerbation severity, which is the presentation axis of rule R7.
+ 3 more references
C

Comorbidities

Rhinovirus Infection <-> Asthma
Disease A A_BEFORE_B CURATED
⚙

Pathophysiology

1
Airway Epithelial Infection and Innate Immune Response
Rhinovirus binds receptors on respiratory epithelial cells and replicates in the airway epithelium. Although cytopathic effect is modest, infection triggers a vigorous innate immune and inflammatory response — release of chemokines and cytokines that recruit inflammatory cells — which produces much of the symptomatic illness (rhinorrhea, congestion, cough). In people with asthma, impaired epithelial antiviral (interferon) responses and a type 2-skewed airway predispose to lower-airway involvement and exacerbations.
respiratory epithelial cell CL:0002632 Cell Ontology (CL) Relation: this pathophysiological event involves this cell type This pathophysiological event involves respiratory epithelial cell, annotated with epithelial cell of lower respiratory tract (CL:0002632). CL:0002632 is a cell type from the Cell Ontology. bronchial epithelial cell CL:0002328 Cell Ontology (CL) Relation: this pathophysiological event involves this cell type This pathophysiological event involves bronchial epithelial cell (CL:0002328). CL:0002328 is a cell type from the Cell Ontology.
viral genome replication GO:0019079 Gene Ontology (GO) Relation: this pathophysiological event involves this biological process This pathophysiological event involves viral genome replication (GO:0019079). GO:0019079 is a biological process from the Gene Ontology. defense response to virus GO:0051607 Gene Ontology (GO) Relation: this pathophysiological event involves this biological process This pathophysiological event involves defense response to virus (GO:0051607). GO:0051607 is a biological process from the Gene Ontology. inflammatory response GO:0006954 ↑ INCREASED Gene Ontology (GO) Relation: this pathophysiological event involves this biological process This pathophysiological event involves increased inflammatory response (GO:0006954). GO:0006954 is a biological process from the Gene Ontology.
nasal cavity UBERON:0001707 Uberon multi-species anatomy ontology (UBERON) Relation: this pathophysiological event occurs in this anatomical location This pathophysiological event occurs in nasal cavity (UBERON:0001707). UBERON:0001707 is an anatomical location from the Uberon multi-species anatomy ontology. respiratory system UBERON:0001004 Uberon multi-species anatomy ontology (UBERON) Relation: this pathophysiological event occurs in this anatomical location This pathophysiological event occurs in respiratory system (UBERON:0001004). UBERON:0001004 is an anatomical location from the Uberon multi-species anatomy ontology.
Show evidence (2 references)
PMID:23297263 SUPPORT Human Clinical
"Human rhinoviruses (HRVs), first discovered in the 1950s, are responsible for more than one-half of cold-like illnesses and cost billions of dollars annually in medical visits and missed days of work."
Establishes HRV as the predominant cause of common-cold illnesses with major economic burden.
PMID:23297263 SUPPORT Human Clinical
"the increasing implementation of PCR assays for respiratory virus detection in clinical laboratories has facilitated the recognition of HRV as a lower respiratory tract pathogen, particularly in patients with asthma, infants, elderly patients, and immunocompromised hosts."
Supports HRV as a lower respiratory tract pathogen with particular impact in asthma, infants, the elderly, and immunocompromised hosts.
●

Phenotypes

5
Head and Neck 1
Nasal congestion HP:0001742 Human Phenotype Ontology (HP) Relation: this clinical feature is this phenotype This clinical feature is Nasal congestion (HP:0001742). HP:0001742 is a phenotype from the Human Phenotype Ontology.
Respiratory 3
Rhinorrhea HP:0031417 Human Phenotype Ontology (HP) Relation: this clinical feature is this phenotype This clinical feature is Rhinorrhea (HP:0031417). HP:0031417 is a phenotype from the Human Phenotype Ontology.
Cough HP:0012735 Human Phenotype Ontology (HP) Relation: this clinical feature is this phenotype This clinical feature is Cough (HP:0012735). HP:0012735 is a phenotype from the Human Phenotype Ontology.
Wheezing HP:0030828 Human Phenotype Ontology (HP) Relation: this clinical feature is this phenotype This clinical feature is Wheezing (HP:0030828). HP:0030828 is a phenotype from the Human Phenotype Ontology.
Constitutional 1
Sneezing Sneeze HP:0025095 Human Phenotype Ontology (HP) Relation: this clinical feature is this phenotype This clinical feature is Sneezing, annotated with Sneeze (HP:0025095). HP:0025095 is a phenotype from the Human Phenotype Ontology.
💊

Medical Actions

1
Supportive Care
Action: Supportive CareNCI Thesaurus (NCIT) Relation: this treatment is this clinical intervention This treatment is Supportive Care (NCIT:C15747). NCIT:C15747 is a clinical intervention from the NCI Thesaurus. NCIT:C15747
No approved antiviral therapy exists for HRV; management is supportive (symptomatic relief, hydration), with attention to treating asthma/COPD exacerbations that HRV can trigger.
Show evidence (1 reference)
PMID:23297263 SUPPORT Human Clinical
"There are currently no approved antiviral therapies for HRVs, and treatment remains primarily supportive."
Confirms that no approved HRV antiviral exists and care is primarily supportive.
🦠

Infectious Agent

3
Rhinovirus A
Human rhinovirus group A, a positive-sense single-stranded RNA picornavirus; most group A and B serotypes are major-group viruses using ICAM-1 for entry. The most frequently detected species in paediatric acute respiratory infection.
Rhinovirus A NCBITaxon:147711 NCBI Taxonomy (NCBITaxon)
Show evidence (3 references)
PMID:23297263 SUPPORT Other
"Three groups of HRVs are now genetically distinguished: group A, group B, and the more recently discovered group C"
Establishes the three-species division this entry's agent list follows. Evidence source is OTHER as this is a review.
PMID:23297263 SUPPORT Other
"the cell surface receptor intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), while the "minor group" attaches to and enters cells via the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR)"
Supports the major-group and minor-group receptor split that the description attributes to groups A and B. Evidence source is OTHER as this is a review.
PMID:35918790 SUPPORT Human Clinical
"RV-A accounted for about half of RV-positive cases (54.7%), while children with RV-C had a higher frequency of wheezing and reactive airway disease"
Quantifies this species' share of rhinovirus detections in hospitalised young children, against which the other two species are read.
Rhinovirus B
Human rhinovirus group B; like group A, most B-group serotypes are major-group viruses that use ICAM-1 for cell entry. Reported less often than group C in severe respiratory illness; nothing cited here places it below group A, and the reports that separate the species on severity at all are the contested set recorded on the RV-C subtype row, so no separate subtype row is curated for this species.
Rhinovirus B NCBITaxon:147712 NCBI Taxonomy (NCBITaxon)
Show evidence (1 reference)
PMID:23297263 SUPPORT REVIEW SYNTHESIS Human Clinical
"Several early reports suggested that HRV-C causes more severe respiratory illness in adults and children as well as more asthma hospitalizations than HRV-A or -B"
The sentence on which the description's comparative claim rests, quoted with the review's own hedge intact. The quoted text describes human clinical reports that the citing review did not perform.
Rhinovirus C
Human rhinovirus group C, which uses cadherin-related family member 3 (CDHR3) for cell entry and is reported to carry a higher frequency of wheezing and asthma exacerbation in children than the other two species. Curated as a disease-level stratum in has_subtypes, where the supporting and contrary evidence for that presentation difference is set out.
Rhinovirus C NCBITaxon:463676 NCBI Taxonomy (NCBITaxon)
Show evidence (1 reference)
PMID:25848009 SUPPORT In Vitro
"We report here that expression of human cadherin-related family member 3 (CDHR3) enables the cells normally unsusceptible to RV-C infection to support both virus binding and replication."
Identifies CDHR3 as the entry receptor for this species. The experiment transfects the receptor into otherwise unsusceptible cell lines, so evidence_source is IN_VITRO.
↔️

Transmission

2
Direct and fomite-mediated contact with self-inoculation
Virus deposited on the hands of an infected person transfers to another person's hands directly or by way of a contaminated object, and infection follows when those hands are carried to the nose or the eye. Experimentally this is the most efficient of the routes tested.
Show evidence (2 references)
PMID:205151 SUPPORT Human Clinical
"These findings support the concept that hand contact/self-inoculation may be an important natural route of rhinovirus transmission."
The authors' conclusion from a volunteer transmission experiment in which hand contact initiated infection far more often than either aerosol route.
PMID:23297263 SUPPORT Other
"HRV infection is efficiently initiated by intranasal and conjunctival inoculation but not by the oral route."
Names the portals of entry that make hand-to-face self-inoculation the effective step, and excludes the oral route. Evidence source is OTHER as this is a review.
Aerosol transmission
Rhinovirus also passes between people in small- and large-particle aerosol. In the volunteer experiment that compared the routes head to head, aerosol exposure initiated infection far less often than hand contact, so it is a real but secondary route.
Show evidence (2 references)
PMID:23297263 SUPPORT Other
"HRVs are transmitted from person to person via contact (either direct or through a fomite) or aerosol (small or large particle)"
Enumerates aerosol alongside contact as a person-to-person route. Evidence source is OTHER as this is a review.
PMID:205151 SUPPORT Human Clinical
"Transmission of infection was very efficient by the hand route"
Quoted for the comparison it opens: the same experiment that found hand contact efficient found large- and small-particle aerosol exposure much less so, which is why aerosol is recorded here as the secondary route.
📊

Related Datasets

3
RHINOVIRUS INFECTION OF THE AIRWAY EPITHELIUM ENHANCES MAST CELL IMMUNE RESPONSES VIA EPITHELIAL-DERIVED INTERFERONS geo:GSE206680
Rationale: Mast cells (MCs) within the airway epithelium in asthma are closely related to airway dysfunction, but crosstalk between airway epithelial cells (AECs) and MCs in asthma remains incompletely understood. Human rhinovirus (HRV) infections are key triggers for asthma progression and AECs from individuals with asthma may have dysregulated anti-viral responses. Objectives: We utilize primary phenotyped AECs in an ex vivo coculture model system to examine crosstalk between AECs and MCs following epithelial HRV infection.
human BULK RNA SEQ n=123
PMID:36708815
Identified by GEO DataSets index search for Rhinovirus Infection (scripts/discover_datasets.py); accession and metadata verified against NCBI E-utilities on 2026-08-01. Title, sample count, and organism are GEO's own values.
Acute rhinovirus infection induces extensive antiviral and B cell receptor gene expression in B cells from asthmatics geo:GSE118875
B cells of asthmatic patients have dysregulated expression of inflammatory cytokine, B cell receptor and antiviral genes at a steady-state. During experimental in vivo infection of human subjects with rhinovirus, interferon-induced antiviral response is exaggerated in B cells in asthmatic patients.
human BULK RNA SEQ n=61
PMID:34169553
Identified by GEO DataSets index search for Rhinovirus Infection (scripts/discover_datasets.py); accession and metadata verified against NCBI E-utilities on 2026-08-01. Title, sample count, and organism are GEO's own values.
RNA sequencing of primary bronchial airway epithelial cells from young children with and without CF, including those with and without rhinovirus infection in vitro geo:GSE138167
Early life viral infections are responsible for pulmonary exacerbations that can contribute to disease progression in young children with CF. The most common respiratory viruses detected in the CF airway are human rhinoviruses (RV) and susceptibility to infection has been attributed to dysregulated airway epithelial responses, although evidence has been conflicting. Here, we exposed airway epithelial cells from children with and without CF to RV in vitro. Using RNA-Seq, we profiled the transcriptomic differences of CF and non-CF airway epithelial cells at baseline and in response to RV. There were only modest differences between CF and non-CF cells at baseline.
human BULK RNA SEQ n=24
PMID:32765492
Identified by GEO DataSets index search for Rhinovirus Infection (scripts/discover_datasets.py); accession and metadata verified against NCBI E-utilities on 2026-08-01. Title, sample count, and organism are GEO's own values.
{ }

Source YAML

click to show 
name: Rhinovirus Infection
creation_date: "2026-06-25T12:00:00Z"
description: >
  Rhinovirus infection is an acute respiratory infection caused by human
  rhinoviruses (HRV; genus Enterovirus, family Picornaviridae; groups A, B, and
  C). HRV is the most common cause of the common cold, responsible for more than
  half of cold-like illnesses, and infects the respiratory epithelium after
  binding host receptors (major-group HRV uses ICAM-1; minor-group uses LDL-receptor
  family members; HRV-C uses CDHR3). Although traditionally regarded as
  an upper respiratory tract pathogen, HRV is now recognized as an important
  lower respiratory tract pathogen, particularly in people with asthma, infants,
  the elderly, and immunocompromised hosts. Wheezing rhinovirus illnesses in
  early life are among the strongest predictors of subsequent childhood asthma,
  and HRV is the most frequent viral trigger of asthma and COPD exacerbations.
category: Infectious Disease
parents:
- Viral Respiratory Infection
synonyms:
- Human rhinovirus infection
- HRV infection
- Common cold (rhinoviral)
disease_term:
  preferred_term: rhinovirus infection
  term:
    id: MONDO:0005709
    label: common cold
has_subtypes:
- name: RV-C
  display_name: Rhinovirus C infection
  classification: etiologic_species
  description: >-
    Infection with rhinovirus C, the species that earns a row of its own on two
    documented axes. On diagnosis, RV-C does not grow in the cell lines that
    recovered RV-A and RV-B, which is why it was not recognised until molecular
    methods arrived and why its classification rests on sequence rather than on
    culture; propagating it in vitro takes a cell line made to express CDHR3.
    On presentation, several independent paediatric
    series report a higher frequency of wheezing and of asthma exacerbation with
    RV-C than with the other two species, and the receptor it uses, CDHR3, is
    itself a childhood asthma susceptibility gene product. That presentation
    difference is not settled: it is recorded here with the contrary evidence
    beside it, because one surveillance cohort found species did not affect most
    clinical outcomes and a review of the earlier reports found well-designed
    studies in which RV-A and RV-C lower-respiratory illness looked alike.
    Neither axis changes management, which is supportive for every species.
  review_notes: >-
    subtype_term is omitted under rule R12 because MONDO carries no rhinovirus
    species class. Re-runnable check:
    `uv run runoak -i ols:mondo search "l~rhinovirus"` returns only
    MONDO:1014857 equine rhinovirus infection, and an OLS query for the
    descendants of this entry's disease_term MONDO:0005709 common cold returns
    none. Binding the parent term is what R12 forbids.
  evidence:
  - reference: PMID:23297263
    reference_title: Human rhinoviruses.
    supports: SUPPORT
    evidence_source: OTHER
    snippet: >-
      HRV-C strains do not grow in standard cell culture, likely postponing
      their discovery
    explanation: >-
      The diagnosis-axis difference that distinguishes this species from RV-A
      and RV-B, under rule R7. Evidence source is OTHER as this is a review.
  - reference: PMID:25848009
    reference_title: >-
      Cadherin-related family member 3, a childhood asthma susceptibility gene
      product, mediates rhinovirus C binding and replication.
    supports: SUPPORT
    evidence_source: IN_VITRO
    snippet: >-
      We report here that expression of human cadherin-related family member 3
      (CDHR3) enables the cells normally unsusceptible to RV-C infection to
      support both virus binding and replication.
    explanation: >-
      Identifies the distinct receptor this species uses, which is both the
      reason it is unculturable in ordinary lines and the mechanistic link to
      the asthma association. The experiment is receptor transfection into cell
      lines, so evidence_source is IN_VITRO.
  - reference: PMID:20693244
    reference_title: >-
      Association between human rhinovirus C and severity of acute asthma in
      children.
    supports: SUPPORT
    evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
    snippet: >-
      Children with HRVC (n = 76) had higher asthma severity scores than
      children whose HRV infection was HRVA or HRVB only
    explanation: >-
      A direct within-cohort comparison of this species against the other two on
      asthma exacerbation severity, which is the presentation axis of rule R7.
  - reference: PMID:31876616
    reference_title: >-
      Rhinovirus C Is Associated With Severe Wheezing and Febrile Respiratory
      Illness in Young Children.
    supports: SUPPORT
    evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
    snippet: >-
      Rhinovirus C is the most prevalent species in our study, and it was
      associated with severe wheezing and febrile illness.
    explanation: >-
      An independent paediatric cohort reporting the same presentation
      difference, which is what lifts it above a single-study finding.
  - reference: PMID:23297263
    reference_title: Human rhinoviruses.
    supports: REFUTE
    evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
    quote_role: REVIEW_SYNTHESIS
    snippet: >-
      More recently, however, well-designed studies found that the clinical
      manifestations and prevalences of lower respiratory tract infection among
      children with HRV-A and HRV-C infections appear to be similar
    explanation: >-
      Recorded against the presentation claim rather than omitted: the review
      reports studies in which RV-A and RV-C lower-respiratory illness did not
      differ, so the severity axis is contested even though the diagnosis axis
      is not. The quoted sentence describes human clinical studies the review
      did not itself perform.
  - reference: PMID:35918790
    reference_title: >-
      Clinical characteristics, outcomes, and seasonality of acute respiratory
      infection associated with single and codetected rhinovirus species among
      hospitalized children in Amman, Jordan.
    supports: REFUTE
    evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
    snippet: neither codetection nor species affected most clinical outcomes
    explanation: >-
      The same cohort that found more wheezing with RV-C concluded that species
      did not change most clinical outcomes, which is the limit on how far this
      row's presentation difference can be taken.
infectious_agent:
- name: Rhinovirus A
  infectious_agent_term:
    preferred_term: Rhinovirus A
    term:
      id: NCBITaxon:147711
      label: Rhinovirus A
  description: >
    Human rhinovirus group A, a positive-sense single-stranded RNA picornavirus;
    most group A and B serotypes are major-group viruses using ICAM-1 for entry.
    The most frequently detected species in paediatric acute respiratory
    infection.
  evidence:
  - reference: PMID:23297263
    reference_title: Human rhinoviruses.
    supports: SUPPORT
    evidence_source: OTHER
    snippet: >-
      Three groups of HRVs are now genetically distinguished: group A, group B,
      and the more recently discovered group C
    explanation: >-
      Establishes the three-species division this entry's agent list follows.
      Evidence source is OTHER as this is a review.
  - reference: PMID:23297263
    reference_title: Human rhinoviruses.
    supports: SUPPORT
    evidence_source: OTHER
    snippet: >-
      the cell surface receptor intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1),
      while the "minor group" attaches to and enters cells via the low-density
      lipoprotein receptor (LDLR)
    explanation: >-
      Supports the major-group and minor-group receptor split that the
      description attributes to groups A and B. Evidence source is OTHER as
      this is a review.
  - reference: PMID:35918790
    reference_title: >-
      Clinical characteristics, outcomes, and seasonality of acute respiratory
      infection associated with single and codetected rhinovirus species among
      hospitalized children in Amman, Jordan.
    supports: SUPPORT
    evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
    snippet: >-
      RV-A accounted for about half of RV-positive cases (54.7%), while children
      with RV-C had a higher frequency of wheezing and reactive airway disease
    explanation: >-
      Quantifies this species' share of rhinovirus detections in hospitalised
      young children, against which the other two species are read.
- name: Rhinovirus B
  infectious_agent_term:
    preferred_term: Rhinovirus B
    term:
      id: NCBITaxon:147712
      label: Rhinovirus B
  description: >
    Human rhinovirus group B; like group A, most B-group serotypes are
    major-group viruses that use ICAM-1 for cell entry. Reported less often than
    group C in severe respiratory illness; nothing cited here places it below
    group A, and the reports that separate the species on severity at all are
    the contested set recorded on the RV-C subtype row, so no separate subtype
    row is curated for this species.
  evidence:
  - reference: PMID:23297263
    reference_title: Human rhinoviruses.
    supports: SUPPORT
    evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
    quote_role: REVIEW_SYNTHESIS
    snippet: >-
      Several early reports suggested that HRV-C causes more severe respiratory
      illness in adults and children as well as more asthma hospitalizations
      than HRV-A or -B
    explanation: >-
      The sentence on which the description's comparative claim rests, quoted
      with the review's own hedge intact. The quoted text describes human
      clinical reports that the citing review did not perform.
- name: Rhinovirus C
  infectious_agent_term:
    preferred_term: Rhinovirus C
    term:
      id: NCBITaxon:463676
      label: Rhinovirus C
  description: >
    Human rhinovirus group C, which uses cadherin-related family member 3
    (CDHR3) for cell entry and is reported to carry a higher frequency of
    wheezing and asthma exacerbation in children than the other two species.
    Curated as a disease-level stratum in has_subtypes, where the supporting
    and contrary evidence for that presentation difference is set out.
  evidence:
  - reference: PMID:25848009
    reference_title: >-
      Cadherin-related family member 3, a childhood asthma susceptibility gene
      product, mediates rhinovirus C binding and replication.
    supports: SUPPORT
    evidence_source: IN_VITRO
    snippet: >-
      We report here that expression of human cadherin-related family member 3
      (CDHR3) enables the cells normally unsusceptible to RV-C infection to
      support both virus binding and replication.
    explanation: >-
      Identifies CDHR3 as the entry receptor for this species. The experiment
      transfects the receptor into otherwise unsusceptible cell lines, so
      evidence_source is IN_VITRO.
transmission:
- name: Direct and fomite-mediated contact with self-inoculation
  description: >-
    Virus deposited on the hands of an infected person transfers to another
    person's hands directly or by way of a contaminated object, and infection
    follows when those hands are carried to the nose or the eye. Experimentally
    this is the most efficient of the routes tested.
  evidence:
  - reference: PMID:205151
    reference_title: Hand-to-hand transmission of rhinovirus colds.
    supports: SUPPORT
    evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
    snippet: >-
      These findings support the concept that hand contact/self-inoculation may
      be an important natural route of rhinovirus transmission.
    explanation: >-
      The authors' conclusion from a volunteer transmission experiment in which
      hand contact initiated infection far more often than either aerosol route.
  - reference: PMID:23297263
    reference_title: Human rhinoviruses.
    supports: SUPPORT
    evidence_source: OTHER
    snippet: >-
      HRV infection is efficiently initiated by intranasal and conjunctival
      inoculation but not by the oral route.
    explanation: >-
      Names the portals of entry that make hand-to-face self-inoculation the
      effective step, and excludes the oral route. Evidence source is OTHER as
      this is a review.
- name: Aerosol transmission
  description: >-
    Rhinovirus also passes between people in small- and large-particle aerosol.
    In the volunteer experiment that compared the routes head to head, aerosol
    exposure initiated infection far less often than hand contact, so it is a
    real but secondary route.
  evidence:
  - reference: PMID:23297263
    reference_title: Human rhinoviruses.
    supports: SUPPORT
    evidence_source: OTHER
    snippet: >-
      HRVs are transmitted from person to person via contact (either direct or
      through a fomite) or aerosol (small or large particle)
    explanation: >-
      Enumerates aerosol alongside contact as a person-to-person route.
      Evidence source is OTHER as this is a review.
  - reference: PMID:205151
    reference_title: Hand-to-hand transmission of rhinovirus colds.
    supports: SUPPORT
    evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
    snippet: >-
      Transmission of infection was very efficient by the hand route
    explanation: >-
      Quoted for the comparison it opens: the same experiment that found hand
      contact efficient found large- and small-particle aerosol exposure much
      less so, which is why aerosol is recorded here as the secondary route.
pathophysiology:
- name: Airway Epithelial Infection and Innate Immune Response
  conforms_to: "innate_antiviral_interferon_response#Interferon-Stimulated Gene Antiviral State"
  description: >
    Rhinovirus binds receptors on respiratory epithelial cells and replicates in
    the airway epithelium. Although cytopathic effect is modest, infection
    triggers a vigorous innate immune and inflammatory response — release of
    chemokines and cytokines that recruit inflammatory cells — which produces
    much of the symptomatic illness (rhinorrhea, congestion, cough). In people
    with asthma, impaired epithelial antiviral (interferon) responses and a
    type 2-skewed airway predispose to lower-airway involvement and
    exacerbations.
  cell_types:
  - preferred_term: respiratory epithelial cell
    term:
      id: CL:0002632
      label: epithelial cell of lower respiratory tract
  - preferred_term: bronchial epithelial cell
    term:
      id: CL:0002328
      label: bronchial epithelial cell
  biological_processes:
  - preferred_term: viral genome replication
    term:
      id: GO:0019079
      label: viral genome replication
  - preferred_term: defense response to virus
    term:
      id: GO:0051607
      label: defense response to virus
  - preferred_term: inflammatory response
    term:
      id: GO:0006954
      label: inflammatory response
    modifier: INCREASED
  locations:
  - preferred_term: nasal cavity
    term:
      id: UBERON:0001707
      label: nasal cavity
  - preferred_term: respiratory system
    term:
      id: UBERON:0001004
      label: respiratory system
  evidence:
  - reference: PMID:23297263
    reference_title: "Human rhinoviruses."
    supports: SUPPORT
    evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
    snippet: "Human rhinoviruses (HRVs), first discovered in the 1950s, are responsible for more than one-half of cold-like illnesses and cost billions of dollars annually in medical visits and missed days of work."
    explanation: Establishes HRV as the predominant cause of common-cold illnesses with major economic burden.
  - reference: PMID:23297263
    reference_title: "Human rhinoviruses."
    supports: SUPPORT
    evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
    snippet: "the increasing implementation of PCR assays for respiratory virus detection in clinical laboratories has facilitated the recognition of HRV as a lower respiratory tract pathogen, particularly in patients with asthma, infants, elderly patients, and immunocompromised hosts."
    explanation: Supports HRV as a lower respiratory tract pathogen with particular impact in asthma, infants, the elderly, and immunocompromised hosts.
phenotypes:
- category: Respiratory
  name: Rhinorrhea
  description: Runny nose, a hallmark of the common cold.
  phenotype_term:
    preferred_term: Rhinorrhea
    term:
      id: HP:0031417
      label: Rhinorrhea
- category: Respiratory
  name: Nasal congestion
  description: Nasal obstruction from mucosal inflammation.
  phenotype_term:
    preferred_term: Nasal congestion
    term:
      id: HP:0001742
      label: Nasal congestion
- category: Respiratory
  name: Cough
  description: Common with both upper and lower airway involvement.
  phenotype_term:
    preferred_term: Cough
    term:
      id: HP:0012735
      label: Cough
- category: Respiratory
  name: Wheezing
  description: Lower-airway involvement, especially in infants and people with asthma.
  phenotype_term:
    preferred_term: Wheezing
    term:
      id: HP:0030828
      label: Wheezing
- category: Respiratory
  name: Sneezing
  description: Common upper respiratory symptom.
  phenotype_term:
    preferred_term: Sneezing
    term:
      id: HP:0025095
      label: Sneeze
treatments:
- name: Supportive Care
  description: >
    No approved antiviral therapy exists for HRV; management is supportive
    (symptomatic relief, hydration), with attention to treating asthma/COPD
    exacerbations that HRV can trigger.
  treatment_term:
    preferred_term: Supportive Care
    term:
      id: NCIT:C15747
      label: Supportive Care
  evidence:
  - reference: PMID:23297263
    reference_title: "Human rhinoviruses."
    supports: SUPPORT
    evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
    snippet: "There are currently no approved antiviral therapies for HRVs, and treatment remains primarily supportive."
    explanation: Confirms that no approved HRV antiviral exists and care is primarily supportive.
notes: >
  Created as an endpoint entry to support directional comorbidity/trajectory
  modeling of early-life rhinovirus wheezing illness as a predictor of
  childhood asthma inception (see Asthma.yaml and the corresponding
  comorbidity entry). MONDO lacks a rhinovirus-specific disease term, so the
  closest term (common cold, MONDO:0005709) is used with a more specific
  preferred_term.
review_notes: >-
  Deliberately lumped. Rhinovirus A and rhinovirus B are kept together under one
  entry after a rung-3 review against the six axes of design decisions section
  3e rule R7, and nothing separated them. Management is identical and
  supportive for every species, with no approved antiviral; clinical detection
  is a pan-rhinovirus molecular assay, so species typing is a sequencing step
  done in research and surveillance rather than in care; transmission is contact
  and aerosol for all three; and the review literature reports similar
  seasonality for groups A and B. Three PubMed searches were run and are
  re-runnable: "rhinovirus species B less frequently detected symptomatic
  illness prevalence molecular epidemiology", "rhinovirus species severity
  systematic review meta-analysis RV-C versus RV-A clinical outcome" and
  "rhinovirus species clinical outcomes hospitalized children comparison
  species A C" all returned no hits, while "rhinovirus species associated with
  hospitalizations young children" returned the two paediatric cohorts cited on
  the RV-C subtype row and nothing separating A from B on presentation,
  diagnosis, therapy, prognosis, transmission or geography. The one comparative
  figure found is viremia in 3 percent of RV-A against 0 percent of RV-B
  infections among children with severe respiratory illness, reported in the
  review cached as PMID:23297263 from a single study; it is a laboratory
  finding rather than a clinical distinction, so it is not curated as a
  differentiating axis. Rhinovirus C is split out
  instead, on the diagnosis axis, which is uncontested, and on a contested
  presentation axis whose supporting and refuting evidence both sit on that row.
  Rule R10 makes this additive: if a series separates A from B on one of the six
  axes, the rows are added then.

datasets:
- accession: geo:GSE206680
  title: RHINOVIRUS INFECTION OF THE AIRWAY EPITHELIUM ENHANCES MAST CELL IMMUNE RESPONSES VIA EPITHELIAL-DERIVED INTERFERONS
  description: 'Rationale: Mast cells (MCs) within the airway epithelium in asthma are closely related to airway dysfunction, but crosstalk between airway epithelial cells (AECs) and MCs in asthma remains incompletely understood. Human rhinovirus (HRV) infections are key triggers for asthma progression and AECs from individuals with asthma may have dysregulated anti-viral responses. Objectives: We utilize primary phenotyped AECs in an ex vivo coculture model system to examine crosstalk between AECs and MCs following epithelial HRV infection.'
  organism:
    preferred_term: human
    term:
      id: NCBITaxon:9606
      label: Homo sapiens
  data_type: BULK_RNA_SEQ
  sample_count: 123
  publication: PMID:36708815
  notes: Identified by GEO DataSets index search for Rhinovirus Infection (scripts/discover_datasets.py); accession and metadata verified against NCBI E-utilities on 2026-08-01. Title, sample count, and organism are GEO's own values.
- accession: geo:GSE118875
  title: Acute rhinovirus infection induces extensive antiviral and B cell receptor gene expression in B cells from asthmatics
  description: B cells of asthmatic patients have dysregulated expression of inflammatory cytokine, B cell receptor and antiviral genes at a steady-state. During experimental in vivo infection of human subjects with rhinovirus, interferon-induced antiviral response is exaggerated in B cells in asthmatic patients.
  organism:
    preferred_term: human
    term:
      id: NCBITaxon:9606
      label: Homo sapiens
  data_type: BULK_RNA_SEQ
  sample_count: 61
  publication: PMID:34169553
  notes: Identified by GEO DataSets index search for Rhinovirus Infection (scripts/discover_datasets.py); accession and metadata verified against NCBI E-utilities on 2026-08-01. Title, sample count, and organism are GEO's own values.
- accession: geo:GSE138167
  title: RNA sequencing of primary bronchial airway epithelial cells from young children with and without CF, including those with and without rhinovirus infection in vitro
  description: Early life viral infections are responsible for pulmonary exacerbations that can contribute to disease progression in young children with CF. The most common respiratory viruses detected in the CF airway are human rhinoviruses (RV) and susceptibility to infection has been attributed to dysregulated airway epithelial responses, although evidence has been conflicting. Here, we exposed airway epithelial cells from children with and without CF to RV in vitro. Using RNA-Seq, we profiled the transcriptomic differences of CF and non-CF airway epithelial cells at baseline and in response to RV. There were only modest differences between CF and non-CF cells at baseline.
  organism:
    preferred_term: human
    term:
      id: NCBITaxon:9606
      label: Homo sapiens
  data_type: BULK_RNA_SEQ
  sample_count: 24
  publication: PMID:32765492
  notes: Identified by GEO DataSets index search for Rhinovirus Infection (scripts/discover_datasets.py); accession and metadata verified against NCBI E-utilities on 2026-08-01. Title, sample count, and organism are GEO's own values.