UNCOMMON FACTS

It is estimated that adults will suffer two to three colds per year,¹ while children, whose immune systems are still learning to fight cold viruses, can suffer two to nine colds annually.^2,3,4 You might wonder why a cure for such a common sickness hasn’t been found yet. Here’s why:

Cold Symptom “Cures” from the Past
Since ancient times, people have been trying to relieve cold symptoms. Here are some methods that ancient civilizations considered “treatment”:

• In 400 BC, Hippocrates noted that bleeding was a frequently used, though worthless, treatment for colds.⁵
• In the first century AD, Roman philosopher Pliny recommended that cold sufferers “kiss the hairy muzzle of a mouse.”⁵

Discovering the Cause of Colds
For centuries, the cause of colds and why and how they spread was not known. The first observations noted that sea voyagers and isolated populations did not get colds until resuming contact with the general population or the “outside” world. This realization led to a better understanding of the incidence and distribution of colds⁵ and suggested that colds were contagious.

However, it was not until the early 20th century that scientists actually began researching the cold, and how it spreads, and were able to confirm those observations.¹ Experiments led by Walter Kruse and his staff at Leipzig University institute led him to believe that viruses, not bacteria, are involved in spreading colds, though he could not definitively prove this.^1,6 Subsequent research built on his idea, until in 1956, the pathogen responsible for the majority of colds, rhinovirus, was isolated at the Common Cold Research Unit in England, an institute dedicated to the study of infectious disease.⁶

Developing Cold-Symptom Relief
Scientists gradually unlocked the secrets of bacteria and viruses, began understanding the role of the immune system, experimented with vaccines, and developed medicines to relieve cold symptoms.

1920s	1930s	1930s to 1940s	1950s	1960s	2000s
Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, which was the starting point for the development of other antibiotics that still are used against secondary bacterial infections associated with colds.1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9	English scientists isolated the first influenza virus, but it would take another 20 years to identify rhinovirus as responsible for the common cold. 6,8	The first flu vaccine was prepared in a laboratory.8	The first recognized rhinovirus was isolated.5,6	Flu vaccinations were administered worldwide.8	The entire genetic sequence of the family of rhinoviruses was mapped by scientists from the University of Maryland.9

Why No Cure for the Common Cold?
With so much research available, why is there still no cure? The answer lies in the fact that there are so many strains of viruses that can cause cold symptoms. The rhinovirus alone, which researchers estimate is responsible for about 40-50% of common colds, has approximately 100 different strains.¹ In fact, with this many types of cold viruses, an individual could “…be infected with a different rhinovirus each year and still not experience all of the known types in a lifetime.”⁵

Other symptom-producing respiratory viruses include the coronaviruses (responsible for 10-15%), respiratory syncytial viruses (5%), adenoviruses, parainfluenza viruses, and enteroviruses.¹ Unlike treatments for diseases, such as smallpox or polio, there is no universal treatment in a single vaccine that can target all of the viruses.

Although the common cold is usually not life threatening, its pervasiveness around the world and the misery caused by its symptoms underscore the need for research and the importance of readily available treatments for cold symptoms.