Here is what you need to know about HMPV:
HMPV stands for “human metapneumovirus” and generally causes a mild infection of the upper respiratory tract.
Common symptoms include coughing, fever and a blocked nose -- very similar to many types of cold and flu.
Public health advice for HMPV is similar to that for flu, said John Tregoning, professor in vaccine immunology at Imperial College London.
Infected people should “rest, take on fluids (and) try not to spread it to others”.
The coronavirus that causes Covid-19 was unknown when it first emerged in humans in late 2019.
In contrast, HMPV has been circulating for decades and people around the world already have some protection against it.
Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at Britain’s University of East Anglia, said that “almost every child will have at least one infection with HMPV by their fifth birthday”.
What has China said?
Among other measures, the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced it was “piloting active monitoring of pneumonia of unknown origin” as it developed its general prevention strategy.
“Influenza virus has shown a clear upward trend recently... the positive rate of rhinovirus has shown a downward trend... respiratory syncytial virus in those aged 0 to 4 years has shown an upward trend recently, and the positive rate of HMPV in cases aged 14 and below has also shown an upward trend,“ he said.
China’s foreign ministry said last Friday that it was “safe to travel to China”.
Images of patients in face masks filling hospital emergency rooms have circulated widely on Chinese social media in recent weeks, but such scenes are not unusual for winter.
In late December, the World Health Organization (WHO) implored China to share more data on Covid-19’s origins, saying it was a “moral and scientific imperative”.
“China’s reported levels of respiratory infections are within the normal range -- it’s what we would expect to see for the winter season,“ spokeswoman Margaret Harris said.
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