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An increase in human metapneumovirus (HMPV) infections in China has received widespread media coverage, but leading scientists and public health experts say there isn’t yet a cause for alarm.
Chinese health authorities last month reported a rise in children aged 14 and under testing positive for HMPV as part of a broader update on the respiratory virus season.
Photos and videos posted on social media in recent days show crowded hospitals in China, sparking concerns over the virus spreading to other countries and causing a Covid-like outbreak.
The concerns come just as the world completes five years since the novel coronavirus infection was first reported in China’s Wuhan.
However, experts emphasise that HMPV is neither new nor poses an unusual threat to global health.
What Is HMPV?
Human metapneumovirus, first identified in 2001 by Dutch scientists, is a common respiratory virus known to cause mild cold-like symptoms in most people. However, it can lead to severe illness in infants, the elderly, and those with underlying health conditions.
Professor Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group at the University of Oxford, describes HMPV as one of many viruses contributing to winter pressure on healthcare systems.
“It causes respiratory illness in babies and the elderly, which can result in hospitalisation. For most other age groups, it simply causes cold-like symptoms,” he says.
Professor John Tregoning from Imperial College London reiterates that HMPV is not a new virus and shares symptoms with other respiratory illnesses like RSV and flu. “It will present in the same way as flu, SARS-CoV-2, and RSV,” he says, adding that preventive measures like handwashing, good ventilation, and staying home when sick can help curb its spread.
Professor Paul Hunter from the University of East Anglia notes that almost every child contracts HMPV by five years of age, with reinfections occurring throughout life. “HMPV typically causes cold-like symptoms that recover by themselves within 2 to 5 days. Severe cases are rare but can occur in vulnerable groups,” he says.
There’s no vaccine for HMPV at the moment but a few are under development.
Current situation in China
China’s National Disease Control and Prevention Administration recently acknowledged an increase in respiratory infections, including HMPV. In response, it has launched a pilot programme to track pneumonia of unknown origin, aiming to improve the identification and management of such cases. This involves closer coordination between laboratories and health agencies and ensuring timely reporting of new cases.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday the disease was spreading at “a smaller scale compared to the previous year”.
This mirrors seasonal trends seen in other countries, including the UK, which is experiencing similar spikes in respiratory illnesses this winter.
Experts say at this stage the outbreak doesn’t appear out of the ordinary.
“At this stage, the likelihood is that China is experiencing a bad HMPV season, in the same way that in some years we have an overwhelming flu season,” Dr Sanjaya Senanayake, infectious diseases specialist from the Australian National University, says.
“This could be due to a combination of viral and behavioural factors, but it should settle down. However, it is vital for China to share data on this outbreak in a timely manner. This includes epidemiologic data about who is getting infected. Also, we need genomic data confirming that HMPV is the culprit and that there aren’t any significant mutations of concern. Such genomic data will also guide vaccine development.“
Some scientists say the rise in infections could be a result of increased diagnosis. “We are diagnosing a greater proportion of infections. So far, there is no evidence of a more serious global issue,” Prof Hunter says.
No global health emergency
The World Health Organization has not classified the increase in HMPV infections as a global health emergency, but the UN agency continues to monitor the situation closely.
Professor Jill Carr, a virologist at Flinders University, says HMPV outbreak is very different from Covid, “where the virus was completely new in humans and arose from a spillover from animals”.
“HMPV can certainly make people very sick,” she notes, “but the current situation in China with high HMPV cases is very different from the threats initially posed by SARS-CoV-2.”
“The scientific community also has some understanding of the genetic diversity and epidemiology of HPMV, the kind of impact the virus has on the lungs and established laboratory testing methods — again, very different to the Covid pandemic where a new lung disease was seen, there was little information on how the virus may vary and spread and we had no initial diagnostic tests.”
