Abstract
The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 has reinforced the growing interest in the role of respiratory viruses in community-acquired pneumonia, in highlighting many points that are still poorly understood, such as the proportion of asymptomatic infections, the interactions between respiratory viruses and non-viral pathogens, their incubation periods and pathogenicity, and the variable duration of excretion. The clinical and radiological presentation of acute community-acquired pneumonia does not always make it possible to distinguish viral from bacterial etiology. The lack of therapeutic options in viral infections seems to be a brake on the use of multiplex PCR in daily practice. The improvement of turnaround time and number of pathogens included in the panels, as well as the growing body of epidemiological and clinical data, should help rationalize the use of these tests, facilitate the interpretation of their results and guide the use of antiviral treatments in development.