The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced at the end of the year that it was setting up “active surveillance for pneumonia of unknown origin” as part of the development of its general prevention strategy.
“The MPVh positivity rate among children aged 14 and under has shown an increasing trend,” said official Kan Biao, responding to a question about the “intertwining of several infectious diseases” since the start of the pandemic. ‘winter. “The scale and intensity of spread of infectious respiratory diseases remain lower than last year,” he said. “There is no risk in traveling to China,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry added last Friday.
MPVh, which stands for “human metapneumovirus,” usually causes a mild upper respiratory infection. It is transmitted by direct contact between people or after touching a contaminated surface. Common symptoms include a cough, fever, or runny nose, symptoms very similar to many types of colds and flu. Young children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems may have more severe symptoms.
Public health advice for hPVD is similar to that for influenza, saysAFP John Tregoning, professor of vaccine immunology at Imperial College London. In the event of infection, you must “rest, drink and avoid transmitting it to others,” specifies the specialist. “Ventilating spaces well, covering your mouth when coughing and washing your hands” are actions that limit the risk of infection, he adds.
The coronavirus responsible for Covid-19 was unknown when it emerged in humans at the end of 2019. The human population had never been exposed to it and was not immune, increasing the risk of complications.
Conversely, MPVh has been circulating for decades, implying a certain level of immunity. The virus “is part of the cocktail of viruses to which we are exposed every winter,” recalls John Tregoning. “Almost every child will have at least one hMPV infection before their fifth birthday,” says Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom. And many people will be contaminated several times during their lives, he adds.
Images of masked patients flocking to hospital emergency departments have circulated widely on Chinese social media in recent weeks, although such scenes are not unusual in winter. This information has sparked concern around the world, with some recalling China’s supposed lack of transparency during the Covid-19 pandemic. Several Chinese citizens who had warned about the seriousness of the pandemic had notably disappeared.
Last December, the World Health Organization (WHO) again asked China to share its data on the Covid-19 pandemic in order to better prepare for future health crises. Beijing responded that it had shared its information “without any restrictions”.
The WHO has sought to allay fears around MPVh. “Reported levels of respiratory infections in China remain within a normal range”, that is to say in line with what is “expected for a winter season”, declared Tuesday the spokesperson of the organization, Margaret Harris.
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