HMPV Virus Sweeps Across China

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Late last year, Chinese authorities reported an increase in children under 14 years old testing positive for human metapneumovirus (HMPV), a respiratory disease with cold or flu-like symptoms. Soon after, videos began appearing on Chinese social media, depicting long lines of patients in Chinese hospitals with over-filled waiting rooms. With 5 years having passed since the COVID-19 pandemic caused a global shutdown and killed over seven million, this raised widespread concern.

In response, Chinese health authorities put emergency measures in place, aiming to monitor and restrain the spread. Additionally, the Chinese government has not brought much attention to this issue and health authorities have emphasized that the situation aligns with typical seasonal patterns and does not pose a significant threat.

“Respiratory infections tend to peak during the winter season,” said Mao Ning, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson. “The diseases appear to be less severe and spread with a smaller scale compared to the previous year.”

There have been more HMPV cases in northern China. There have also been reported cases in neighbouring regions such as Hong Kong, Malaysia, and India, although they have reported much lower rates. Additionally, it has been detected in some hospital patients in England.

A key difference between COVID-19 and HMPV is that HMPV has existed for decades. It was first identified in the Netherlands in 2001, and is a common virus worldwide that presents itself in most people as similar to the common cold. Its most common symptoms are coughing, fever, nasal congestion, and shortness of breath. However, virus progression can cause varying degrees of respiratory disease in people of all ages, especially among younger children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems, according to the US Centers for Disease Control. Despite this, most people will have some degree of immunity to it, and healthcare officials are more readily prepared to deal with it. 

“Most people have had HMPV by the time they are five years old and catch it again throughout their lives,” says Dr. Conall Watson, consultant epidemiologist at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). 

HMPV spreads through human contact or by touching objects or surfaces that have the virus on them and then touching the mouth, nose, or eyes. It is a virus occurring mostly during the winter months or flu season, and its prevention guidelines are similar to those of other viruses like COVID, such as washing your hands regularly and avoiding close contact with others.

“Whilst HMPV does mutate and change over time with new strains emerging, it is not a virus that we consider to have pandemic potential. This is because the changes in HMPV are gradual and based on previously circulating strains,” said Dr Andrew Catchpole, a virologist from England.

“Pandemics occur when a totally new virus enters the human population, like for COVID-19, or in the case of influenza, when a totally new variant of the virus enters the human population by combination [of a human and animal] version of the virus from what is known as the animal reservoir. There is no such animal reservoir of related viruses known for HMPV.”

As there is no cure or vaccine for HMPV, treatments consist of providing support to patients and focusing on caring for symptoms. This includes resting at home, and staying hydrated, as well as some over-the-counter medications. The majority of people with mild cases recover by themselves within a week. 

“If you do feel very unwell go to your [general practitioner],” John Tregoning, a professor in vaccine immunology at Imperial College London said in a statement. “As it is a virus, antibiotics won’t have any effect.”