Identifying Non-COVID Respiratory Illnesses

A mixture of respiratory viruses, including common coronaviruses, respiratory adenovirus, and parainfluenza, are currently circulating and causing cold-like symptoms. Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is currently causing a particularly high percentage of positives among test results tracked by the CDC. HMPV typically results in familiar cold-like symptoms but can lead to complications in young children and elderly or immunocompromised adults. It's difficult to say if this year's HMPV season is worse than usual, but many cases likely go undetected. While testing for SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and RSV is valuable, there's usually no need to test further for other respiratory viruses since there aren't specific treatments for them.