Common Cold Classified as Category V: Be Prepared for Emergence of New Infectious Diseases

Editorial

14:59 JST, April 21, 2025

It may be possible that a new infectious disease may be lurking within the symptoms of the common cold that everyone has experienced, such as coughing and a sore throat.

It is essential to collect detailed information from medical facilities and contain the spread of infection.

Fixed-point surveillance of the number of patients who were treated by doctors with common cold symptoms began on April 7.

This move followed the government’s decision last year to categorize all infections with cold-like symptoms as “acute respiratory infections” and classified them as Category V under the Infectious Diseases Law. About 3,000 medical institutions designated for the surveillance will now report patient numbers and other information to public health centers.

Medical institutions have previously reported patient numbers separately for specific pathogens such as seasonal influenza and the novel coronavirus. Patients with cold symptoms whose pathogens were not determined through testing were not included in such reports.

This made it difficult to determine whether new infectious diseases were emerging, causing countermeasures to be delayed. Therefore, it was decided to collect a wide range of information on the occurrence of general cold symptoms.

Nasal or throat mucus from some of these patients will be collected as samples for pathogen analysis. A system to quickly identify new infectious diseases based on the data obtained should be established.

Information on infectious diseases had been reported to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) through facilities such as public health centers. However, starting this fiscal year, the process has been consolidated at the Japan Institute for Health Security, which was formed by merging the NIID and the National Center for Global Health and Medicine.

The new institute is responsible for advising the government on the spread of infectious diseases. Information on infection trends should be made available to the public without delay.

Even though the common cold has been classified as a Category V infectious disease under the law, there will be no restrictions on going to work or school, unlike for influenza or COVID-19. The government should carefully provide explanations to avoid misunderstandings.

In addition to the common cold, there has been a rapid spread of whooping cough, a disease marked by severe coughing that lasts for a long time.

Whooping cough is a bacterial infection that can cause severe complications in infants, including pneumonia and encephalitis. Infections primarily spread through airborne droplets from coughing or sneezing. Vaccinations are routinely administered to infants and small children, and they should be vaccinated promptly.

If a person is infected, treatment with antibiotics is available, so it is important to seek medical treatment quickly.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, many people likely have come to realize the importance of basic preventive measures such as handwashing. It is essential that each individual remains vigilant about information on infectious diseases and examines their preventive measures.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, April 20, 2025)