Is There A ‘Mystery Respiratory’ Virus Spreading Throughout Minnesota And Wisconsin?

While we are experiencing an uncharacteristically warm winter this year, one thing that remains is that flu season is here, and that, along with COVID-19, RSV, and other ailments, has had quite an impact across the country.

According to reports, the United States started the new year with high amounts of respiratory illness that includes high levels of flu, COVID-19, and RSV across most of the country. The latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has added that while some indicators showed that flu activity dipped in early January, a single week of decrease is not a trend, and health experts warn that more increases are likely to come.

While that is to be expected, there have also been alarming reports about a so-called "mystery respiratory virus" that was spreading across the United States.

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Claims were being made on social media that an emergency room in South Florida was overcrowded with people not only suffering from respiratory issues and flu-like symptoms but also more troublesome symptoms like swollen legs, water in the lungs, and fluid in the heart.

Furthermore, those people all tested negative for the flu, COVID-19, and RSV. So, the fear was that it must be some sort of mystery illness that could be spreading around the country.

So, with every community, is this happening everywhere in the United States, and is a mystery illness something we have to fear in Minnesota and Wisconsin?

Since this story started on social media, it's only fitting that Doctor Eric, a popular medical expert on the social media site TikTok, used the format to respond to the video where a woman reported on what she claimed was happening.

The good news is that there is no need to panic in Minnesota, Wisconsin, or anywhere for that matter.

While Doctor Eric did confirm these claims, he also shared important insight. He mentions that he works in a hospital and admits patients from the emergency room, which he admits is very crowded right now, as is the case across the country, but it's because we're in a bad respiratory virus season, not because of a mystery virus.

He adds that testing negative for Covid and the flu does not mean you have a mystery illness. It just means that you have one of the many other respiratory viruses that are out there, and this time of year is always worse for these types of illnesses.

You can see the full video below, which should put your mind at ease.

The good news is that respiratory illnesses tend to fade as we get closer to spring, so hopefully everyone can stay healthy, or at least recover quickly until that happens.

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