Upper Austria is in the grip of a stubborn wave of sniffles and coughs, and infectiologist Helmut Salzer has explained what is driving it. According to Salzer, rhinoviruses are currently the main culprits behind the blocked noses and hacking that people keep reporting. The genuine influenza virus has also arrived, so the season now mixes ordinary colds with real flu cases. Rhinoviruses spread easily once people gather indoors, and closed windows give them a free pass from one person to the next. The symptoms overlap heavily, which makes it difficult to tell a simple cold from influenza without a proper test. Salzer's diagnosis points to several viruses circulating at once rather than a single new pathogen. That overlap explains why clinics and workplaces across the province are reporting so many absences at the same time.