Seppälä EM, Oikarinen S, Lehtonen JP, et al. - In view of the proposed association of human rhinoviruses (HRV), enteroviruses (HEV) and parechoviruses (HPeV) with acute otitis media (AOM), researchers here appraised a prospective birth cohort setting for this association. They performed follow up of 324 healthy infants from birth to the age of 3 years. Using real-time RT-qPCR, screening for HRV and HEV was done in nasal swab samples collected at the age of 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months. Stool samples collected monthly were analyzed for HRV, HEV, and HPeV. Parents reported AOM episodes diagnosed by a physician in a diary. AOM episodes were identified to be clearly associated with the simultaneous detection of HEV and HRV. A similar, yet non-significant trend was evident for HPeV. Findings thus suggest a possible contribution of HEVs and HRVs to the development of AOM in a relatively large proportion of cases.