Common etiological viral agents of respiratory infections include adenoviruses (ADV), influenza types A and B (Flu A and B), parainfluenza types 1, 2, and 3 (PIV1, 2, 3),and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). 1-4 These viruses are responsible for a spectrum of acute upper and lower respiratory tract disease. In children, the elderly and other immunocompromised groups, respiratory viruses can cause more serious clinical complications, such as croup, bronchiolitis, and pneumonia, which often require hospitalization. 5,6 Virus isolation by cell culture and direct immunofluorescent antibody assay (DFA) staining with monoclonal antibodies are two of the most commonly used laboratory techniques for detecting respiratory viruses. Both these methods have significant limitations in sensitivity and specificity. DFA detection is more rapid but less sensitive than viral culture, and results may be affected by specimen quality (ie, presence of intact, infected cells), virus type, and interpretation of a positive result, which is subjective and requires a great deal of technical skill. 2,7-10 DFA is also unable to detect minor variations in amino acid sequence on envelope or capsid proteins. 11 Viral culture is still considered the "gold standard" for respiratory virus detection, but is limited by a prolonged result turnaround time (ie, 2 days to 1 week) and is dependent on stringent specimen transport and storage conditions to preserve the infectivity of the virus. 9,[12][13][14][15] Although the combination of both these techniques can provide an increase in the number of positive results, a significant proportion of specimens still remain negative, despite clinical suspicion of viral infection. 8 Several studies have shown that polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification can resolve the intrinsic limitations associated with traditional diagnostic techniques by combining increased sensitivity, specificity, and rapid result turnaround time. 16,17 Also, PCR results are not dependent on infectious virus or viable cells. However, Supported by Royal Children's Hospital Foundation grants RA921-006 and I922-034 which were sponsored by the Woolworth's "Care for Kids" campaign.