The disease that is apparently spreading in China and crowding hospitals has already reached Europe. Human metapneumovirus, or HMPV, is a respiratory virus that causes cold and flu-like symptoms.
The virus is already growing alarmingly in China PHOTO: X
China is currently on high alert as reports of a new virus, similar to COVID-19, with flu-like symptoms have emerged across the country. Although the disease usually has mild symptoms, it can lead to severe complications such as pneumonia, especially in infants, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems.
“What is happening now in China is not a new situation. It is a viral infection with the Metapneumovirus of human origin, which we have known about since 2001. Indeed, at the moment, there are many cases of this virus in China. We are primarily talking about children up to 14 years old, who also have associated diseases. (…)There is no evidence at the moment that it is a real problem for public health, but we know from the experience with SARS-CoV-2 and beyond that, unfortunately, the virus does not need a passport when it reach the border. So we have to be cautious, we have to take into account that this situation in China is important to be kept under control, to monitor the people coming from China who can reach Europe and pass on and we have to know that in the end it is it is a flu-like symptomatology, that most of the time you can confuse this virus with a flu virusAdrian Marinescu, medical director of the Matei Balș Institute in Bucharest, told CNN’s Antena 3.
Social media posts in mainland China have highlighted an influx of children in hospitals with fevers, coughs and sore throats, with numbers reaching record highs in recent days.
According to dailymail, a study by gov.uk, which tracks diseases like COVID-19, recently revealed that the same hMPV disease that is at the origin of the epidemic in China is indeed present on British shores.
“Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) positivity increased slightly to 4.5%, with the highest positivity in those under 5 at 10.0%”the website says, referring to the time period between December 23 and 29 last year.
While the other three major flu strains—Adenovirus, Parainfluenza, and Rhinovirus—all showed downward trends, HMPV showed an upward trend just as chaos began to settle in China.
Reuters revealed that Chinese authorities are trialling a new system to monitor undetermined pneumonia cases, raising concerns about a potential surge in cases of “white lungs”, a commonly used expression for severe pneumonia.
There have been rumors that China has declared a state of emergency due to the spread of the virus, but neither the Chinese government nor the World Health Organization has issued any official statement.
Furthermore, a doctor in Jiangsu Province posted on Xiaohongshu, a mainland platform, on December 27, revealing the discovery of a previously unknown virus at his medical facility.
The doctor revealed that the affected patients were battling pneumonia and respiratory failure. Although the virus was not as contagious as the coronavirus, it had a significantly higher fatality rate.
