The virus, first identified in 2001, is one of the rare respiratory illnesses spreading this winter. This is what we know about the current epidemic.
China is experiencing an outbreak of human metapneumovirus (HMPV), a respiratory disease that is making waves amid a global rise in infections this winter.
Unlike the coronavirus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, HMPV is a known virus, with established risks and countermeasures.
However, this poses a risk to vulnerable groups, such as babies, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems. And it has certain characteristics that can make it harder to detect than other viruses.
“It’s a very important pathogen, quite difficult to detect, and often doesn’t show up even in hospital laboratory tests,” said Dr. Peter Openshaw, a respiratory physician and expert in influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). from Imperial College London, told L’Observatoire de l’Europe Health.
Here’s what we know – and what we don’t know – about HMPV, the outbreak in China and what it means for Europe.
What is HMPV?
It is a common respiratory virus that Dutch scientists first detected in 2001, although it was likely circulating in humans well before then.
Most children are infected with HMPV at least once before the age of five, with infections usually peaking in late winter or early spring.
“This is part of the cocktail of winter viruses that we are exposed to,” John Tregoning, a vaccine immunologist at Imperial College London, said in a statement.
How serious is the virus?
The virus causes cold or flu symptoms, such as cough, runny nose, congestion and shortness of breath, from which people usually recover within a few days. However, some infections can be serious, requiring hospitalization.
Children and the elderly are more likely to be hospitalized from HMPV, which can also cause more severe illness in people with immune system deficiencies or chronic lung diseases.
In an Italian study covering the 2018-2019 winter season, 10 to 12% of patients infected with HMPV or RSV – which is a similar virus – required intensive care.
Where is it spreading?
HMPV cases are increasing in northern China, especially among children under 14, local officials reportedly said.
Meanwhile, a combination of HMPV and influenza appears to be putting pressure on health systems in densely populated regions, according to Vasso Apostolopoulos, professor of immunology at RMIT University in Australia.
HMPV circulating in China does not appear to have mutated into a more dangerous strain, Apostolopoulos said, but disease surveillance and infection control efforts will be important to minimize public health risks.
“At this point, it is likely that China will have a bad HMPV season, in the same way that some years we have an overwhelming flu season,” said Dr. Sanjaya Senanayake, an infectious disease specialist at the National University. Australian, in a press release. statement.
Should Europeans be worried?
Although Chinese authorities are monitoring the outbreak, there does not currently appear to be an overall risk from the virus.
However, HMPV cases are also increasing in countries like England, which had a test positivity rate of 4.53 percent at the end of December, up from 2.29 percent a month earlier, an indicator of the spread of the virus.
Cases of flu, COVID-19, RSV and norovirus, the winter vomiting bug, have also increased in Europe, in what some experts have called a “quademic.”
“A combination of these already known viruses (appears) to be causing a global increase” in infections, Openshaw said.
What are we doing to fight against HMPV?
There are no vaccines for HMPV, but several are in development, some of which could protect against both HMPV and RSV, Dr Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, told the University of Oxford.
Meanwhile, Senanayake called on China to share its data to confirm that HMPV is indeed the cause of the outbreak and to contribute to the development of a vaccine.
How can I avoid getting sick?
Like other viruses, HMPV is spread through coughing and sneezing. Therefore, ventilating your home and washing your hands regularly will help you avoid getting sick.
Covering your mouth when you cough and staying home when you are sick will also help prevent the spread of the virus and reduce the burden on health systems.
“We are all very concerned,” Openshaw said. “The winter surge in infections is actually causing many of our health systems to almost reach breaking point.”
