2025 Public Health Laboratory Newsroom
Minnesota’s Fall 2025 Respiratory Viruses
Every fall, a different mix of viruses run through Minnesotan households. Consistently, the most prevalent respiratory diseases are COVID-19, respiratory syntactical virus (RSV), influenza (aka the flu), and the common cold. All circulate throughout the state throughout the year, but the rates for each fluctuate by season.
The Minnesota Public Health Laboratory, a division of the Minnesota Department of Health, tracks respiratory viruses by gathering data and testing samples sent by hospitals and clinics. It works with the department’s Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Prevention and Control (IDEPC) Division to analyze the data and communicate trends to health care professionals.
Throughout September 2025, data submitted by participating Minnesota hospitals and clinics have revealed unusually high levels of rhinovirus, the most frequent cause of the common cold. During the week of September 14-20, 2025, 213 positive tests were logged for rhinovirus. No other respiratory virus showed more than 5 positive tests during the week. Rhinovirus tends to circulate most when other respiratory disease activity is lowest. (See the data at Laboratory Data Viral Respiratory Illness in Minnesota.)
People with rhinovirus are much less likely to go to the hospital than are those with COVID-19 or the flu. This fall, rates of hospitalization for respiratory viruses are relatively low at this writing. During September 2025, around 2 Minnesotans per 100,000 were hospitalized for COVID-19, influenza, and RSV. In September 2024, the rate was closer to 4.5 per 100,000.
Weeks surrounding major holidays tend to bring much higher rates of hospitalization for respiratory diseases. During the week of December 29, 2024, through January 4, 2025, nearly 28 Minnesotans per 100,000 went to the hospital for issues relating to a respiratory disease. The week of December 24-30, 2023, showed a peak of 22 per 100,000.
People 65 and older make up the large majority of people hospitalized for COVID-19 and the flu. Hospitalizations for RSV predominantly consist of children aged 0-4. (See the data at Hospitalization Data: Viral Respiratory Illness in Minnesota.)
Tracking other respiratory diseases
The Minnesota Department of Health also tracks lesser-known respiratory viruses. One that has been detected in fall 2025 is enterovirus D68. It afflicts mainly children and teenagers who have not developed an immunity to it. Typical symptoms of enterovirus D68 infection are similar to those of a cold: a runny nose, sneezing, a cough, and body and muscle aches.
There is a very small possibility that an enterovirus D68 infection can lead to a more serious condition called acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) in children. Initial symptoms of acute flaccid myelitis include weakness in the arms or legs, tripping, and pain in the neck, arms, back, or legs. If your child experiences these symptoms, call your doctor. At this writing, no cases of acute flaccid myelitis have been reported in 2025 in Minnesota.
Hospitals and clinics are unable to test patients for enterovirus D68, acute flaccid myelitis, or other rare diseases. They must send samples from respiratory patients to the Minnesota Public Health Laboratory. The lab tests respiratory specimens, cerebrospinal fluid, and stool with a method called real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to differentiate different types of viruses.
While there are vaccines for COVID-19 and the flu, there is no vaccine for enterovirus D68. Current strains of the virus generally cause mild illness and do not lead to fatalities. COVID-19 and the flu are much more deadly. If enterovirus D68 or another similar virus evolves into a more dangerous strain, extensive knowledge about the virus will be critical.
One reason the Minnesota Department of Health monitors less prominent viruses such as enterovirus D68 is to gather data that partners in health care could use to make a vaccine, if one were deemed necessary. The Minnesota Public Health Laboratory uses whole genome sequencing to identify the strains of the viruses in patient samples. After many samples are sequenced, scientists map out how viruses change over time. The Minnesota Public Health Laboratory is a national leader in virus genome sequencing and is known worldwide for its work sequencing RSV.
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