The familiar symptoms are back again – a runny nose, coughing, aches, congestion, and maybe a fever. When the at-home COVID-19 test comes back negative, you head to the doctor to see if they can figure out what you’ve caught. At the doctor, though, the typical COVID and flu tests also come back negative. It could seem like a new mysterious respiratory illness is making the rounds.

Instead, several typical respiratory viruses seem to be peaking at once. Doctors are reporting high levels of COVID, the flu, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), as well as other “flu-like illnesses” that cause similar symptoms, such as the common cold, other coronaviruses, and parainfluenza viruses (which cause typical respiratory symptoms such as a fever, runny nose, coughing, sneezing, and a sore throat).

“Respiratory viruses are still very high right now, as you would expect at this time of year,” said Brianne Barker, PhD, who researches viruses and the body’s immune response as an associate professor of biology at Drew University in New Jersey. “Also, a fair number of patients seem to have multiple infections at once, such as flu and strep, which may cause confusion when patients consider their symptoms.”

So, what should you do? Wear a mask in public if you think you have symptoms, Barker said. Stay home if you feel sick, particularly if you have a fever over 100.4 F and signs of contagiousness, such as chills and muscle aches. Antiviral medications – such as Tamiflu for the flu and Paxlovid for COVID – may help if you catch it soon enough, but otherwise, it’s most important to stay hydrated and rest at home.

“The big picture is we’re in the heat of respiratory virus season, and the big player at the hospital right now is the flu, which seems to be superseding everything else,” said Dhaval Desai, MD, director of hospital medicine at Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta. “I’m not sure if certain viruses are more aggressive or different this year, so it’s hard to say exactly what’s going on, but we’ve certainly seen an uptick since mid-December, and it hasn’t stopped.”