Cassie Perez knew she wasn’t feeling well, but she couldn’t pinpoint the illness affecting her.
“I thought I had a cold – sore throat, body aches, and then a really high fever hit me,” she recalled.
Despite testing negative for Covid, Perez’s experience is increasingly common.
“In the hospital over the past week, I saw several patients with respiratory symptoms,” said Dr. Matthew Sims. “However, tests for flu, RSV, or Covid often come back negative.”
“We can test for about 17 viruses including flu, Covid, and RSV, but many viruses remain undetected,” Sims explained. “Sometimes outbreaks occur, and we don’t know until the CDC investigates.”
Sims, from Corewell Health, discussed managing these mysterious respiratory illnesses with symptomatic relief.
“There’s no specific treatment; we focus on easing symptoms until patients recover,” Sims stated.
Despite this, many patients, like Cassie, continue to struggle with lingering symptoms.
“I still feel like I’m not fully recovered after these weeks,” Cassie said.
Medical experts emphasize that these illnesses differ from Covid’s severity during its initial outbreak.
“When Covid started in China’s Wuhan Province, it caused severe respiratory issues, hospitalizations, and deaths,” Sims clarified. “This contrasts with mild symptoms like coughing and wheezing.”
Health professionals urge against panic, noting no significant signs of severe illness.
“We haven’t seen alarming signs of a severe outbreak,” Sims assured.
They stress the importance of getting vaccinated against flu and Covid.
“Annual vaccination is advisable to protect against these illnesses,” Sims recommended.
