A doctor has outlined those who are most at risk of becoming ill with rhinovrius, which is a respiratory condition that develops in people as the common cold. Those with untreated asthma, COPD or imparied are most at risk of becoming sick with rhinovrius.
Dr Joe Kidney, is a leading respiratory physician at the Belfast Trust and was speaking as the Department of Health asked people who are experiencing the symptoms of a rhinovirus to stay home and isolate, even if they have tested negative for Covid, Belfast Live reports. He said that around 12 per cent of the population has the virus in their nose at any one time and it is most likely to replicate in colder temperatures.
Dr Kidney said that most people who are infected with a rhinovirus only experience the symptoms of a cold, however there are certain groups who are more at risk of developing a more serious infection, such as asthmatics, those with COPD or an impaired immune system.
Due to the changing nature of rhinovirus, it can be difficult to build a full immunity to them. It is possible to be infected by a rhinovirus within weeks of recovering from one.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Dr Kidney said: "I think we all get about six colds a year under normal circumstances and our bodies might have forgotten that during the lockdown. The majority of those are rhinovirus and there are around 12 per cent of us that have a rhinovirus in our nose at any one time and they like to replicate in colder temperatures such as 32 degrees rather than 37, which is our body temperature.
"So when it gets cold outside it replicates in our nose which is why we call them colds. Most of the symptoms are of a cold, cough, runny nose, sinusitis and they can make you feel just rotten but often not very very ill, where flu is much more likely to give you temperatures. Although you can still get aches and pains with rhinovirus as well.
"The issue is now we are looking at people with runny noses and we want to know if they have coronavirus and the answer is they might do, but with a runny nose that can actually be a rhinovirus as well."
Dr Kidney said that while the majority of people only experience cold like symptoms from a Rhinovirus, there are groups who are particularly at risk, with the virus being the cause of around 80 per cent of asthma exacerbations.
He continued: "Poorly controlled asthmatics are a real risk group and these are people who should be taking preventer treatments, a brown or red inhaler. They feel well between the episodes so they feel an the urgency to take medication because they are getting by with their relievers or blue inhalers, and then they can get very sick with a rhinovirus infection, so probably rhinovirus is responsible for 80 per cent of asthma exacerbations and while it is very uncommon now, asthma deaths do occur.
"What I used to say is the common cold can be uncommonly dangerous to some people. The other that gets very sick are those with COPD, and an exaserpatation is the second commonest cause for people coming into hospital."
Dr Kidney warned that Northern Ireland is currently seeing almost a peak number of Coronavirus cases, with Scotland recording its highest ever figure last week. However he says that the progress that has been made with treatments for virus have proven to be very effective, with NI having the lowest mortality rate of any country in the UK.
He said: "The great thing about the coronavirus is the vaccine, people who have been getting very very sick with coronavirus before are not now and the vaccine has been a huge success, it has been one of the greatest victories of science in this century."
The doctor issued one last warning about the Rhinovirus saying: "We have been getting them for years and if you are healthy you will get a cold but if you are susceptible it could make you sicker. People with asthma need to take their preventers, they could be between infections and they could get sick with a rhinovirus and COPD often lands people in hospital.
"It is best not to get them if you are vulnerable. I worry about older people taking care of young people, it can be a great spreader of these colds."
The NHS says human rhinoviruses (HRVs) are one of the main aetiological agents responsible for respiratory tract infections and within certain subsections of the population, such as young children, infection with these viruses can often be severe.
