Experts have revealed the key differences between the viruses spreading – to help decipher if your bug is flu, a cold or the new potential threat to the NHS, human metapneumovirus (hMPV).
As flu continues to reach crisis point, triggering ‘critical incidents’ at at least a dozen hospitals across the country, experts have raised the alarm about rising levels of hMPV.
The virus is said to be responsible for images of swamped hospital waiting rooms in China, in scenes that are eerily similar to the early days of Covid.
However, scientists are almost certain that symptoms of hMPV will be very mild for most, resembling a cold.
Flu, on the other hand, tends to be more severe — with a relatively specific trajectory of illness.
But, certain vulnerable groups — the elderly, immunocompromised and young children, for instance — may not have an easy time with hMPV. And the resulting complications differ from that of flu.
So what are the tell-tale signs of both infections? And how can you tell them apart?
hMPV
In the vast majority of cases, hMPV’s main symptoms are very similar to a common cold: coughing, blocked or runny nose, sore throat and slight fever.
As with other viruses, these are caused by the body’s immune system trying to fight it off.
However, some may also experience nausea and vomiting. Symptoms typically clear after around five days.
More severe symptoms such as bronchitis, bronchiolitis and pneumonia, which usually affect those with compromised immune systems, can occur, with sufferers experiencing a shortness of breath, severe cough or wheezing.
Professor John Tregoning, an expert in vaccine immunology at Imperial College London, said when hMPV infects children it looks similar to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a common winter bug that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms.
‘It is part of the cocktail of winter viruses that we are exposed to and, like other viruses, it will transmit in coughs, sneezes and in droplets,’ he said.
Similar to the advice related to Covid and RSV, those infected must ‘rest, stay hydrated and try not to spread it to others’, he added.
Often patients aren’t tested for hMPV unless in hospital, where doctors might need to clarify what is causing your symptoms.
This is done via rapid antigen tests — where a nasal swab is examined — or a PCR test, which looks for traces of genetic material from the virus in nasal swabs.
Experts have repeatedly warned that case numbers are what is expected for this time of year.
Flu
Triggered by influenza viruses, the illness usually causes people to have a cough — which is the most common crossover seasonal virus symptom.
But signs of the flu are typically much more intense than colds and can even cause stomach issues.
It can prove fatal in some cases if complications, such as pneumonia, arise among the most vulnerable.
Professor Ron Eccles, who ran the Common Cold Centre at Cardiff University before retiring from the university in 2017, told MailOnline: ‘Flu typically causes chills, a fever, headaches, muscle aches and pains.
‘The flu feels worse because the symptoms affect the whole body and are not restricted to the upper airways.’
He added: ‘Gastrointestinal symptoms like vomiting and diarrhoea are also more prevalent in influenza cases.’
Typically symptoms appear around one to four days after exposure to the virus, and they last up to a week. But side effects including fatigue may linger for weeks.
Just like treating a cold, rest and fluids are often recommended to help people suffering the flu. Over-the-counter medications also help.
Cold
Rhinoviruses are the most common cause of a cold, but a minor infection of the nose and throat can be caused by one of more than 200 different viruses.
If symptoms are mostly restricted to the upper airways, it is likely to be a cold.
‘Cold symptoms are more of a head cold with runny nose, sneezing, sore throat and blocked nose’, Professor Eccles said.
Cold weather alone does not cause a cold. But the body is more susceptible to infection when the immune system is weaker.
London-based GP Dr Ann Nainan told MailOnline: ‘Colds usually develop gradually and can cause cough, congestion and fatigue. They creep up on you with stuff like a runny nose or a sore throat.’
The illness tends to be ‘a nuisance’, as opposed to the flu, which ‘can knock you off your feet and keep you in bed’, she added.
This overlap in symptoms, however, can make clinical diagnoses challenging.
There is no cure for the common cold, but there are a few ways of soothing the symptoms.
Getting plenty of rest, drinking lots of fluids, breathing in steam to ease your blocked nose and drinking hot lemon and honey to soothe a sore throat are all simple ways to treat a cold. Symptoms usually subside within days.
