Respiratory infections are common in general practice. In DBs practice 22% of all new episodes of illness and 55% of all new episodes of infection are due to infections of the respiratory tract. For every 1000 patients registered with a general practitioner presenting during the course of any given year, 140 will consult with acute upper respiratory infection, 75 with acute throat infections and 62 with acute chest infections; a further 28 will consult with acute otitis media and in a non-epidemic year five will consult with influenza. For every 1000 patients on a general practitioner’s list, 20 will present with an acute chest infection during any given year, eight will be admitted to hospital and one will die.