A distinctive barking cough and labored breathing at night — the hallmarks of croup — are showing up in pediatric emergency rooms and urgent care clinics at elevated rates across the United States this June, as two respiratory viruses simultaneously surge in CDC national surveillance.
CDC's Respiratory Illnesses Data Channel, updated June 12, 2026, confirms that parainfluenza virus (PIV) — the primary cause of croup — is elevated nationally. Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) and rhinovirus/enterovirus (RV/EV) are also elevated nationally but beginning to decline. At the same time, the CDC's broader respiratory data summary notes that overall acute respiratory illness driving people to seek healthcare remains very low nationally — meaning PIV is generating croup cases without triggering broad population-level illness trends.
