is a new epidemic underway?

Five years after the Covid-19 pandemic, is China facing an epidemic again? On social networks, videos of overwhelmed hospitals are shared en masse. Internet users claim that the country is facing the spread of different viruses including influenza, Covid-19, human metapneumovirus and respiratory infections caused by the bacteria Mycoplasma pneumoniae.

Videos of crowded hospitals in China due to different viruses

On X, the @COVID_19disease account shares videos of overloaded hospitals. “China is facing a surge of several viruses, including influenza A, hepatitis B virus, Mycoplasma pneumoniae and COVID-19, which are overwhelming hospitals and crematoriums, says this user. Children’s hospitals are particularly strained by increasing cases of pneumonia and ‘white lung.’ The latter is the syndrome caused by the bacteria Mycoplasma pneumoniae in children. Many other videos, sharing the same scenes, are distributed online.

Virus and epidemic in China: videos and unreliable sources

In France, TF1 analyzed these different images. “These contents, on X, all date back to the Christmas period, or even a few days before: the oldest post we found dates from December 15, 2024specifies the article. However, they are not based on any tangible element.” The images analyzed are all older than announced: thus, one of the videos dates from 2022, at the time of a Covid-19 peak. The various sources mentioned by social media users would also be dubious: The Epoch Times is one of the media cited, but TF1 recalls that the site has already broadcast false information about Covid-19.

Should we be worried about the spread of these viruses in China?

During a press conference on January 3, Mao Nong, spokesperson for the Chinese foreign minister, responded to a question on this subject. “Respiratory infections tend to peak during the winter season in the northern hemisphere, she declared. Recently, the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration of China held a press conference to share information on the prevention and control of respiratory diseases in China during winter. Diseases appear to be less severe and spread on a smaller scale compared to the previous year.”

In the British media The GuardianDr Jacqueline Stephens, lecturer in public health at Flinders University in Australia, urges caution. First, new, more reliable technologies make it possible to better detect and identify viruses including HMPV. “I think we’re just more cautious about outbreaks nowshe believes. Everyone is hyper-vigilant, and when you hear this term human metapneumovirus, it sounds pretty scary.” However, the symptoms of this pathology are similar to those of a cold, and it is also one of the viruses responsible for this mild illness. In China, contrary to Internet users’ assertions, health authorities have not declared a state of emergency. As for the World Health Organization, it has not published anything about these contaminations.