“A Cough from Nowhere” — Ukrainians Are Massively Complaining About Strange Symptoms

There are rumors circulating online about a new unknown infection that is attacking Ukrainians. Citizens and doctors are writing about a spike in respiratory illnesses that cannot be identified, as tests for coronavirus and flu yield negative results. This is reported by Glavkom, citing tsn.ua.

The illness may begin with a slight fever – approximately up to 37,1 °C. Among the symptoms that appear in patients: severe nasal congestion, runny nose, weakness and fatigue. After a few days a cough and sore throat may develop.

Many such cases have been recorded in Kyiv over the past week. At least people are complaining specifically about such symptoms, especially fatigue and a cough that comes on as if from nowhere.

The Kyiv City Center for Disease Control and Prevention assures that no new strains of the virus have been detected yet.

“Last week there were a few isolated cases of COVID, but no new viruses have been detected yet. So this is most likely a common respiratory infection. The samples we confirm in the lab are sent to the Center for Public Health. They sequence them, and as soon as there is a result, they will be able to say: are these the same strains or something else. So far nothing new has been detected,” says Kyiv’s Chief State Sanitary Doctor Serhiy Chumak.

According to him, the epidemiological season has just begun at the end of September, so specialists have only begun active monitoring of respiratory infections. A comparison of the incidence rate will be possible based on the results of next week.

Famous infectious disease doctor Olga Holubovska commented on the situation on her social media page. She explained that the seasonal rise in non-flu respiratory illnesses traditionally begins after children return to school.

During this period rhinoviruses and paramyxovirus, as well as lower activity of seasonal coronaviruses, adenoviruses, and metapneumoviruses are dominant. According to the doctor, there are no severe hospitalizations currently, only a few isolated cases of non-severe flu are recorded.

“We should stay calm; if you get sick, stay at home and treat yourself. The average duration of symptoms is about 7–10 days, and the cough may last 2–3 weeks,” notes the infectious disease specialist.

In addition, she recommends closing windows after shelling to avoid further damaging the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract.

“Consult a doctor in time, especially for at‑risk groups, to decide on antiviral therapy, do not try to be overly active during the illness – and everything will be fine,” reassures Olga Holubovska.

Recall that in August and September 2026 of the year, some regions of Ukraine experienced shortages of certain medicines. At the same time, the Ministry of Health stated that there is no systemic shortage of medicines in the country at present.

Also in Ukraine new standards for the rational use of antimicrobial agents have come into force. From now on, doctors cannot prescribe antibiotics merely at the patient’s request if there are no medical indications.