Which Virus is Causing Congestion, Coughing in so Many? It’s Not COVID

It’s not a COVID surge, but lately, another respiratory infection going around is leaving many people coughing and checking their temperatures. Excessive chest congestion, horrible coughs, fever and shortness of breath make up the symptoms of the Human metapneumovirus (HMPV), which has similar symptoms to COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). CDC says that nearly 19.6% of antigen tests and 11% of PCR tests this spring were positive for HMPV, which is a 36% increase from pre-pandemic numbers when the positivity rate was around 7%. Read more about HMVP from The Hill here.