Although everyone has heard of — and probably experienced — the common cold, they frequently do not realize that colds are caused by a wide range of different viruses. Most of the time it may not be necessary to say this, but sometimes it’s helpful to mention common causes of colds when comparing them to other respiratory diseases.
In the early days of the pandemic, for example, SARS-CoV-2 was called a “novel coronavirus” to distinguish it not only from SARS and MERS but also from the four coronaviruses that can cause minor colds (though they didn’t start out minor!). Other common cold causes include rhinoviruses, parainfluenza viruses, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), though the latter is more serious in infants and older adults.