It is a well–established fact that majority of the acute respiratory infections have a viral etiology. Unlike other infectious agents, viruses gain easier access into the respiratory tract due to their small size (smaller than that of the smallest fungal spores). This helps them establish themselves and spread in a rampant manner. Most airborne viruses spread rapidly due to short incubation period and poor hygiene in community as well as poor infection control practices in hospitals. Due to their obligate intracellular nature, laboratory diagnosis is tedious and therefore diagnosis becomes subjective based on evidence based clinical findings documented in literature. There is limited role for viral diagnosis on routine basis, but play a pivotal role during epidemics and pandemics. Syndrome based approaches are much useful in immunocompromised and young children which makes this an interesting topic for discussion.