The highly contagious ‘rhinovirus’ is spreading rapidly
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of patients with other respiratory infections such as colds and flu has decreased significantly. Recently, the number of suspected influenza patients is increasing again, and the number of cold patients is also increasing.
Infectious disease experts are expressing that ‘rhinovirus’ seems to have revived. Rhinovirus is the most common virus that causes the common cold. It causes typical cold symptoms such as runny nose, stuffy nose, coughing, sneezing, sore throat, headache, and body aches. It may cause a fever or loss of appetite. All these symptoms usually last for 7 to 10 days and then disappear.
The number of cold patients is also increasing significantly in Los Angeles, USA. Recently, 30% of respiratory virus tests conducted in LA detect rhinovirus and its sister virus, enterovirus. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said: “Rinovirus usually peaks in the spring and fall, but this year, cases of the virus have surged since the summer.”
Then, why is the number of cold patients increasing so much during this time? It is analyzed that this is because the virus, which did not spread during the Corona crisis, had an opportunity to spread along with the measures to ease quarantine regulations. Many people are waiting for the removal of masks indoors next spring, but it means that there are also obvious advantages of wearing masks and social distancing.
Rhinovirus spreads easily when a person coughs or sneezes, or when a person touches an object contaminated by coughing. Rhinovirus is highly contagious. There are many people who have never caught a cold during the last three years of the corona pandemic. It is said that many people have lost their immunity to rhinovirus, and this is likely to cause more cold cases this year.
It is not a problem to worry too much because most of them suffer from mild illness, but the elderly and immunocompromised people will need to be careful in that it is also a kind of ‘number game’. As the number of patients increases, the number of patients with severe symptoms is bound to increase. Since some of the cold patients can be seriously ill, it is necessary for the high-risk group to follow the rules such as wearing a mask in crowded places.
When you have a cold, drink plenty of water and rest. Just taking over-the-counter cold medicines, such as general cold medicine, can improve symptoms and make you more comfortable. However, since cold medicine only serves as a symptomatic treatment (treatment to relieve the apparent symptoms), it does not play a role in quickly curing the cold itself.