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This winter, infections caused by human metapneumovirus (HMPV) are peaking in China, leading to a massive influx of patients in some hospitals in the north of the country. If the situation revives fears of a pandemic similar to Covid19, the World Health Organization (WHO) is reassuring.
China is coughing… and the whole world has its eyes fixed on the Middle Kingdom. It must be said that since the Covid-19 pandemic five years ago, the fear of a new pandemic has been on everyone’s minds. However, the health situation is far from being as catastrophic as certain false videos broadcast on social networks might suggest.
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If Chinese health authorities are observing an increase in respiratory infections due to human metapneumovirus (HMPV, also called HPV) in the northern provinces this winter, the World Health Organization (WHO) is currently reassuring. Explanations.
“Reported levels of acute respiratory infections in China, including HMPV, are within the expected range for the winter season, with no unusual outbreak patterns reported,” WHO said in a statement released Monday, January 7.
A common seasonal virus
Human metapneumovirus is not a completely unknown pathogen. The virus responsible for respiratory infections was identified for the first time in 2021 in the Netherlands, HuffPost also recalls. And like any common respiratory pathogen, it has since evolved in the form of regular winter epidemics. HMPV is routinely monitored in many countries, “although not all countries routinely test and publish data on disease trends,” WHO says.
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This winter, China, India, the United States and Canada are the countries most affected by the virus. According to Dr. Karl Weiss, infectious disease microbiologist, whom the Quotidien de Montréal interviewed, HMPV “is still a virus that can be quite common and quite benign. So, yes, the vast majority of the population has already been exposed to this kind of virus.”
-Flu syndrome
The symptoms related to the infection are similar to the common cold: cough, runny nose or nasal congestion, sore throat, fever. In the vast majority of cases, the infection is mild and patients recover spontaneously after a few days.
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However, some patients can sometimes experience complications, such as “bronchiolitis, bronchitis or pneumonia,” specifies the American lung association. This is particularly the case for so-called “at risk” patients: the elderly or immunocompromised, people suffering from other respiratory infections or even children under 5 years old.
To date, there is no antiviral treatment or specific vaccine against HMPV. On the other hand, symptomatic treatment may, on a case-by-case basis, be offered to patients.
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Despite an infectious peak for HMPV in China, “the hospital utilization rate is currently lower than that of last year at the same time”, recalls the WHO. On the other hand, the country, like France, must face a significant increase in seasonal flu.
In our territory, 38.4% of emergency room consultations during the first week of the year were linked to an acute respiratory infection, according to the latest Public Health France bulletin.
