There has been a surge in the numbers coming down with coughs, colds and snuffles this winter, official figures from the national Health Protection Surveillance Centre show.
Data collated by the centre indicates that in most weeks since October a higher percentage of specimens sent to the national virus reference laboratory to be tested for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) were positive for the condition, compared with the same period last year.
RSV is a type of virus that can cause coughs and colds in adults and snuffles in children.
In the final week of 2007, for example, almost 40 per cent of samples sent to the national virus reference laboratory to be tested for RSV were positive for the virus compared to just over 20 per cent of samples sent for analysis during the same week last year.
Suzanne Cotter, a public health specialist with the surveillance centre, explained this virus is not the same as the flu and said there hasn't been any particular increase in influenza-like illness reported since Christmas. "The levels are within those normally expected at this time of year," Dr Cottor said.
Asked what patients should do if they contract the virus she said that it's important not to expose others to it and to take appropriate hygiene precautions to prevent transmission to others.
"If people feel severely unwell they should seek medical advice but there is no antibiotic therapy," she said.
Meanwhile, surveillance centre data also shows there's been a sharp increase in cases of norovirus, winter vomiting bug.
Paul McKeown, public health specialist with the centre, said the numbers being reported now are the highest since 2004.
"What we've been seeing recently on a weekly basis is as high as we've seen in the last three years," Dr McKeown added.
He advises those who have caught the bug to drink plenty of fluids and stay away from alcohol and food until the stomach has settled. He warns that norovirus is highly infectious and easily transmitted by sufferers.