NEWS There is a lot of coughing at the moment and many people think that more people than usual are at home with cold symptoms, but is that really the case and if so, why? Niklas Arnberg is a Professor at Department of Clinical Microbiology at Umeå University and he is trying to answer the questions that are circulating in many workplaces and schools around Sweden right now.
Niklas Arnberg is a Professor at Department of Clinical Microbiology at Umeå University. Photo: Mattias Pettersson.
"It's a combination of several different viruses. We're seeing a lot of the classic cold viruses, like rhinoviruses and enteroviruses, which usually cause runny noses, but also coughs and even pneumonia. But we also see influenza, parainfluenza viruses, common coronaviruses, although not so much COVID-19, as well as some RSV and metapneumoviruses. In other words, there are a lot of viruses and I'm contributing to more people coughing and sniffling than we usually see at this time of year."
"Yes, it's actually a bit surprising that there are so many different viruses so late in the year. Usually, by this time, several of them have decreased significantly. One possible explanation is that we are still feeling some pandemic effect. The restrictions during the pandemic affected our exposure to viruses, which in turn has affected the immunity of the population. This has affected the epidemiological patterns and we don't seem to be back in balance yet. Every year is different, but since the pandemic we have seen an unusual amount of disruption in these patterns."
"Vulnerable groups in the population should be vaccinated according to the recommendations, but others can also be vaccinated against certain pathogens. Otherwise, the classic advice is to avoid large crowds, wash your hands often and those who are susceptible to infection can also use a face mask."
"It should calm down soon, we normally have less virus activity in summer, on the other hand we haven't had a clear peak of COVID-19 this winter, so there could be more during the summer. But most likely the worst should be over soon as it gets warmer and we spend more time outside."