Lost your voice and can't stop coughing? You might have adenovirus, a little known winter bug that is easy to catch... but hard to shift
But as well as the 'quindemic' which took hold over winter, there was another bug hiding in plain sight among the onslaught of germs, it's called adenovirus. The UKHSA monitor weekly positivity data for common respiratory viruses including adenovirus, human metapneumovirus (hMPV), flu, covid 19 and colds. 'And, compared to the flu, adenovirus infections typically cause less intense body aches and fatigue, and we don’t have a readily available vaccine for it. Mr Budd said: 'Respiratory viruses like adenovirus tend to spread more widely in the winter and early spring when people spend more time indoors. 'Adenovirus isn’t a new virus; it’s just showing up more often alongside other winter bugs.'
Source: Daily Mail January 15, 2026 13:53 UTC
