What do we know about the latest head cold?

What causes it? Is it serious? Can we do anything about it or do we just have to suffer? -Here’s what I found.

Summary

• It’s not COVID, it’s an old fashioned Rhinovirus

• A note on the NZ Herald’s article about colds and flu: let’s be clear on what we’re talking about!

• Respiratory virus laboratory report from the ESR

• How to diagnose your cold or flu

• More important than symptoms: your susceptibility to infection

• Vaccines are not yet the answer

• How to access the most up-to-date ESR respiratory virus laboratory report

• More information about the ESR’s respiratory virus testing program

Introduction

I researched NZ’s current statistics on colds and flu to see if I could find reassurance and strategies for myself and my clients. Here is what I found.

It’s not COVID, it’s an old fashioned Rhinovirus

This is how I know:-

• When my clients call in sick, they’ve all tested negative to COVID.

• The latest reports from the New Zealand ESR laboratory, and the clinical symptoms indicate that the infection in adults is most likely Rhinovirus: a good old-fashioned head cold.

NZ Herald’s article: let’s be clear what we’re talking about!

A New Zealand Herald article states: “New Zealand flu season off to early start ahead of another bumper year!” (You can read the original here). The title is misleading. Let’s be a little more clear about what the title says.

A) The Herald article’s title refers to all respiratory virus infections, not just influenza

1. Flu has a precise meaning: “influenza virus infection”.

2. Flu also has a more general meaning, that is: “various respiratory virus infections”.

Which type of flu does this article’s title refer to? - The answer is found in the article content, which refers to various viruses, including Influenza and other “cold” viruses

B) The article title predicts “a bumper year” for the flu

Since bumper means “bigger or more successful than usual” (definition here), does the newspaper really think that more flu means “more successful”? And if more successful, then more successful for whom? - Presumably, they mean successful for the doctors and pharmacies that busily ring up their cash tills, while we all go through our winter of misery!

(The Herald article predicts lots of colds and flus this winter, due to a catch up after the lack of infections during recent boarder controls. These infections are unlikely to be more severe than the good old fashioned colds, especially if we take the right precautions. The article is definitely worth a read).

Respiratory virus laboratory report from NZ’s virus lab: the ESR

ESR is short for Institute of Environmental Science and Research. ESR is a New Zealand Crown Research Institute. ESR is in Auckland and performs many useful services, one of which is to analyse respiratory virus swabs. These swabs are sent in by “sentinel” medical practices. Perhaps your own GP is one of the sentinel practices?. Each practice sends in 3-6 swabs weekly.

It’s not easy to access the ESR weekly virus report (but check out my instruction in the references below). Their latest report (May 16th) looks like this:-

Below is a table of ESR laboratory swab reports from 1 January 2023 until April 16th. If you are a teenager or adult and it’s a heavy head cold, it’s probably caused by a Rhinovirus (the second most common viral isolate). Rhinovirus is heavy going, but not serious if you take the precautions covered later in this article. If there are symptoms below the neck it’s likely a strain of influenza A, the most common respiratory virus isolate found so far this year. Having searched the New Zealand media I can state that this Influenza strain is not being reported as unusually severe.

How to diagnose your cold or flu

The best information for signs and symptoms of colds and flus is at the American CDC. When you are there, you can use the search function at the top right of the page.

Some findings from my CDC searches:-

Rhinovirus is a head cold with a lot of catarrh (“snot”) and often a distressing cough. It is often quite slow to go away. It is more common in Autumn and Spring. Kids often get it twice yearly and adults once.

RSV is mostly a mild head cold, except in babies. Babies under 6 months, especially sickly babies, may also have bronchiolitis that requires medical advice and care. Most children by the age of 2 years have had RSV.

Adenovirus tends to be more like the flu in that it can cause not just a head cold and sore throat, but also vomiting and diarrhoea.

If you are finding your cold is extra heavy-going, you should see your doctor.

Vaccines are not yet the answer

If you think that vaccines are effective against colds and flu, think again. A peer-reviewed discussion paper by Dr Anthony Fauci and two others, explains why cold and flu shots are not yet effective:-.

“Viruses that replicate in the human respiratory mucosa without infecting systemically, including influenza A, SARS-CoV-2, endemic coronaviruses, RSV, and many other “common cold” viruses…. …have not to date been effectively controlled by licensed or experimental vaccines…. …We discuss possible approaches to developing next-generation vaccines against these viruses…”

Dr Anthony Fauci is the most influential virologist in the world today. So it’s well established: vaccines do not provide an answer to colds and flu. They may one day, but not yet.

More important than symptoms: your susceptibility to infection

More important than checking symptoms is to assess your (or your child’s) susceptibility to the infection. Weak or sickly babies, and retired folk who need lots of meds, are particularly vulnerable. There are lots of things you can do to minimise you cold or flu and we will publish some of these soon. We suggest you start by looking at this article about vitamin D for COVID

---

How to access the most up-to-date ESR respiratory virus report

1. Paste the following web address into your browser address bar

2. The number 19 at the end of the address refers to the week of the report for 2023. Change the number to a more recent week and hit the refresh button.

3. A little trial and error will find the most recent report.

https://www.esr.cri.nz/assets/SHIVERS/Reports/Virology-report/Virology-Weekly-report_2023_19.pdf

More information about the ESR’s respiratory virus testing program

• ESR Crown Research Institute: Participate in the respiratory surveillance sentinel programme

• ESR Crown Research Institute: Influenza and other viral respiratory surveillance

• ESR Crown Research Institute: ESR Laboratory-based Virology Weekly Report - week ending 14 may, 2023