Parechovirus is a virus that most often causes symptoms of the common cold. Parechovirus is a known entity that causes illness in children and vulnerable populations. Most often, it causes common cold symptoms, but in more vulnerable populations, such as newborn babies.

Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus (which is endemic in certain parts of Africa). It is related to smallpox (which has been eradicated).

In general, because the symptoms of ear infections are so non-specific and infants and toddlers cannot tell you their ear hurts, the only way to know definitively is to have the ear examined.

About 25 percent of infants have at least one ear infection in the first year of life. They are painful, and they are frustrating.