What is HMPV and how does it spread?

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Posted on 01/15/2025 4:06:37 PM PST by daniel1212

A surge in cases of the flu-like human metapneumovirus (HMPV) in China has raised fears of another Covid-style pandemic. [...] but health experts say HMPV is not like Covid, and point out it has been around for many years.

They say China and other countries are simply experiencing the seasonal increase in HMPV typically seen in winter.

First identified in the Netherlands in 2001, HMPV spreads through direct contact between people, or when someone touches a contaminated surface.

The virus leads to a mild upper respiratory tract infection for most people.

It is usually almost indistinguishable from flu.

Symptoms for most people include a cough, a fever and blocked nose.

The very young, including children under two, are most vulnerable to the virus.

It also poses a greater risk to those with weakened immune systems, including the elderly and those with advanced cancer, according to Hsu Li Yang, an infectious diseases specialist in Singapore.

If infected, a "small but significant proportion" of immunocompromised people can develop more severe disease where the lungs are affected, with wheezing, breathlessness and symptoms of croup. [...]

[...]Like many respiratory infections, HMPV is most active during late winter and spring.

Fears of a Covid-style pandemic are overblown, experts say, noting that such events are typically caused by new viruses, which is not the case with HMPV.

The disease is already globally present and has been around for decades. This means people across the world have "some degree of existing immunity due to previous exposure", Dr Hsu said.

"Almost every child will have at least one infection with HMPV by their fifth birthday and we can expect to go onto to have multiple reinfections throughout life," said Paul Hunter, a medical professor at University of East Anglia in England.

(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...

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1 posted on 01/15/2025 4:06:37 PM PST by daniel1212

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