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31st December 2025
10:45am GMT

The new “mystery throat virus” can spread through the respiratory tract, shed through stool, and live a while on contaminated surfaces.
Adenovirus has been described in this way because of its sudden spread globally as well as its difficulty to identify due to its similar nature to other flu-like viruses.
When it comes to symptoms, it attacks many different parts of your body.
This means that you can experience everything from sore throat, runny nose, and cough to middle-ear infection, high fever, and shortness of breath, while it can cause diarrhea too.
According to Eric Sachinwalla, Jefferson Health’s medical director of infection prevention and control, if you have these symptoms, you most likely had adenovirus.
Many of the people you will talk to, chances are high that they will complain of the same thing: they will be feeling sick or are suffering from a virus that comes with a sore throat.
What symptoms you will go through all depends on the type of adenovirus strain, as there are nearly 60 for this type of virus, and which subtype is causing the rise in infections remains unknown.
Public Health Scotland released a list of symptoms of adenovirus.
The most common symptoms include:
Less common symptoms of adenovirus infection include:
The bad news about adenovirus: there is no treatment for it
Adenovirus is a common virus that spreads throughout the year, and due to being a virus there is little treatment other than wait it out.
Meanwhile, unlike flu and COVID, there are no vaccines for adenovirus, mostly because of the number of strains it has and its low public priority.
This illness also will cause you to have very little to no energy and this appears to be lasting for days, or even weeks for some.
This type of virus is a group of common viruses that can cause the symptoms you may be having, which are cold- and flu-like.
What makes things worrying is that it is quite contagious compared to other viruses, and it won’t be killed with soap, water or other disinfectants we use every day, meaning it lives longer in the environment.
When should you go to the doctor?
You should pay your doctor a visit if you’re feeling worse by day three, as that timing might be a good reason to call your doctor and see if what you’re experiencing is worth getting checked out for.
Medical attention should also be sought by those who are immunocompromised, parents of young babies, or those that have underlying medical conditions like lung or heart disease.