{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T18:04:57Z","timestamp":1787681097352,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,3]],"date-time":"2025-09-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1756857600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are the most common human infections. Diagnostic testing for respiratory pathogens is largely restricted to medical institutions. Self-testing may allow for real-time epidemiological monitoring of ARI pathogens, in particular in individuals not seeking medical attention.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>Adults from the VACCELERATE Volunteer Registry received a test-kit for multiple respiratory antigens, a laminar flow device (LFD) detecting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), influenza viruses A and B, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and adenovirus (ADV) from a single nasal swab. During one winter season, participants self-tested upon ARI symptoms, reported LFD result as well as symptoms, vaccination history, and any underlying conditions. Participants who remained without ARI symptoms self-tested on the last day of the study period.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Between December 7, 2022, and June 2, 2023, 1,429 participants communicated their self-testing results. Of these 1,119 (78.3%) individuals had developed ARI symptoms and self-tested until May 31, 2023. Overall, 359 of 1,119 (32.1%) tests were positive with 17 (1.5%) co-detections, resulting in 377 detected pathogens overall. Thirteen tests (1.2%) were invalid or failed technically, and 747 (66.8%) were negative. The most frequently detected pathogen was SARS-CoV-2 (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f178; 47.2%) followed by RSV (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f109; 28.9%) and influenza A virus (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f74; 19.6%). ADV was detected in 10 (2.7%) and influenza B virus in six (1.6%) samples only. Participants with detection of influenza A virus reported more often cough (91%), fever (59.7%), and myalgia (43.3%) than participants with detection of RSV or SARS-CoV-2. The remaining 310 participants (21.7%) who had not developed ARI symptoms self-tested on June 1, 2023, yielding an RSV point prevalence of 7.1%.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>This study allowed real-time reporting of five endemic ARI pathogens in a citizen science project. Symptom burden was highest in influenza A. Seasonal and off-seasonal RSV detection hint toward relevant RSV circulation in adults all year round.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1638280","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,3]],"date-time":"2025-09-03T05:38:35Z","timestamp":1756877915000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Self-testing for 5 respiratory viruses in adult VACCELERATE volunteers in Germany\u2014a pilot study on multi-pathogen rapid antigen testing to monitor community-acquired acute respiratory infections"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Julia 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