Nearly three in ten tested positive for rhinovirus
As most winter respiratory viruses retreat across the United Kingdom, rhinovirus — long dismissed as the humble cause of the common cold — is moving in the opposite direction, finding its most vulnerable audience in children under five. Government surveillance data from late January 2025 shows positivity rates climbing week on week, with nearly a third of the youngest children tested returning positive results. What is ordinarily a self-resolving nuisance carries a different weight in small bodies, where it can descend into the lungs and become something far more serious.
- Rhinovirus is bucking the seasonal trend — while COVID-19, RSV, influenza, and adenovirus all decline, this virus is accelerating, with positivity jumping from 8.1% to 9.7% in a single week.
- Children under five are bearing the sharpest exposure, with a 29% positivity rate — nearly one in three tested — raising urgent concern among those caring for the UK's youngest and most respiratory-vulnerable population.
- What begins as a runny nose and a cough can escalate in young children to bronchiolitis, pneumonia, or severe asthma attacks, meaning the familiar is masking a potentially serious threat.
- The UK Health Security Agency has issued no public statement, and no specific rhinovirus guidance exists — parents are left navigating the spike armed only with general cold-prevention advice like hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette.
- The true scale remains obscured: positivity rates are rising, but the absolute number of children infected is unknown, leaving the full weight of this outbreak difficult to measure.
A virus most people associate with nothing more than a runny nose is spreading through the UK with unusual momentum — and the children least equipped to weather it are encountering it most. Government surveillance data released this week shows rhinovirus positivity climbing from 8.1% to 9.7% in a single week, even as nearly every other winter respiratory virus is in decline. Among children under five, the rate reaches 29% — close to one in three of those tested.
Rhinovirus is, in most circumstances, unremarkable. It causes colds: sore throats, sneezing, a cough that clears within a week. There are 171 known types, and most people move through an infection without incident. But in very young children, the virus can travel deeper, triggering bronchiolitis, pneumonia, or severe asthma attacks. The familiar symptoms — fever, cough, mild aches — can be the opening act to something far more serious.
What gives this moment its particular weight is how isolated rhinovirus appears in the data. Coronavirus, RSV, influenza, adenovirus, parainfluenza — all are declining. Rhinovirus alone is rising. Yet the UK Health Security Agency has not issued guidance, and no specific prevention advice for rhinovirus exists beyond the standard counsel of hand-washing and covering coughs.
The data has its limits: positivity rates are available, but not the total number of children tested or infected, leaving the true scale uncertain. What remains clear is that a vulnerable population is encountering this virus at elevated rates, and whether the trend continues — or whether health authorities will respond with more targeted guidance — is the question now unfolding.
A virus that most people know only as the cause of a common cold is spreading through the UK with unusual force, and the youngest children are bearing the brunt of it. Government surveillance data released this week shows rhinovirus cases climbing when nearly every other winter respiratory virus is in decline. The positivity rate—the share of tests coming back positive—jumped from 8.1% to 9.7% in just one week. Among children under five, the picture is starker: nearly three in ten tested positive for rhinovirus, a rate of 29%.
Rhinovirus is ordinarily unremarkable. It causes runny noses, sore throats, coughs, the kind of illness that resolves on its own in a week or so. Public Health Scotland's description is clinical but clear: it belongs to a family of small viruses that typically settle in the upper respiratory tract, causing what we call a cold. There are 171 known types of rhinovirus, sorted into three species, with names like RV-A and RV-C. Most people encounter one at some point and recover without incident.
But rhinovirus is not always mild, especially in very young children. When it moves deeper into the lungs, it can trigger bronchiolitis—infection of the small airways—or bronchitis, or pneumonia. It can provoke severe asthma attacks in children prone to reactive airway disease. It can lead to middle ear infections. The symptoms themselves are familiar enough: fever, cough, sneezing, sore throat, headache, mild body aches. But in a child under five, these can be the opening act to something far more serious.
What makes this moment noteworthy is the isolation of rhinovirus in the data. Coronavirus cases are falling. RSV, the respiratory syncytial virus that typically surges in winter, is declining. Influenza is down. Adenovirus, human metapneumovirus, parainfluenza—all showing decreases. Rhinovirus alone is moving upward. The UK Health Security Agency has not issued a public statement about the spike. The health service offers no specific guidance on preventing rhinovirus transmission, though standard cold-prevention advice—hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette—would apply.
The data itself is incomplete. Government figures show the positivity rate but not the absolute number of children tested or the total number infected. The spike is real in percentage terms, but the full scale remains unclear. What is clear is that children under five, a population already vulnerable to severe respiratory illness, are encountering this virus at higher rates than the general population. Parents and caregivers in the UK are navigating winter with one more virus to watch for, one more reason to monitor a child's breathing, one more potential path to a hospital visit. The question now is whether this upward trend continues or levels off—and whether the health system will offer more detailed guidance as the weeks unfold.
Citas Notables
Rhinoviruses are the most frequent cause of the common cold and are primarily associated with upper respiratory tract infection but can cause lower respiratory tract infection also.— Public Health Scotland spokesperson
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why is rhinovirus rising when everything else is falling? Is there something different about it this year?
The data doesn't explain the why—just the pattern. But one possibility is simple: as other viruses retreat, rhinovirus fills the space. It circulates year-round, unlike RSV or flu. It's possible we're just seeing the seasonal rotation more clearly now.
And the children under five—why are they hit so much harder? Is it because they haven't built immunity yet?
Partly that. Young children have less developed immune systems and narrower airways, so any infection that reaches the lungs is more dangerous. A cold that an adult shakes off in days can become bronchiolitis in a toddler.
The source mentions 171 different types of rhinovirus. Does that matter? Can you catch it multiple times?
Yes, you can. Each type is distinct enough that immunity to one doesn't protect you from another. That's why rhinovirus is so common across a lifetime—there's always another variant you haven't met.
So there's no vaccine, no specific treatment—just watch and wait?
Essentially. The NHS advice is standard cold management: rest, fluids, monitoring for signs of lower respiratory infection. In severe cases, hospitalization. But there's no antiviral that targets rhinovirus specifically.
What worries you most about this spike?
That it's happening in winter, when hospitals are already strained, and in the age group least able to fight back. A 29% positivity rate in children under five is not a small number.