As the world withdraws from the festive season, a new health concern seems to be around the corner. The social media is replete with images and videos of patients crowding Chinese hospitals with a COVID-like infection. This new respiratory illness is caused by a virus named Human metapneumovirus (HMPV).
It is important to note that while frenzied social media posts entail a dire situation in China, neither the World Health Organization (WHO) nor China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has declared any stage of emergency so far.
Another important aspect of this outbreak is that HMPV is not a new virus like the ‘novel’ SARS-CoV-2 virus which caused COVID-19. It was first detected by Dutch researchers in the nasopharyngeal samples of children who complained of respiratory illness in 2001.
Meanwhile, serological studies have testified that HMPV has existed for at least 60 years and it is not limited to China. It is found all over the world and is clubbed as a common respiratory pathogen.
It is reported that presently northern parts of China such as Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia are reporting maximum cases while there is no clarity about the actual caseload.
However, despite HMPV having been known as a pathogen for almost three decades now, there is no vaccine developed so far.
The worst thing about HMPV is that younger sections of the population (children, adolescents and toddlers) are its primary targets.
While China has not made any information public, neighbouring countries have begun to report the number of cases as the HMPV outbreak has found its way to other east Asian countries.
According to Japan Broadcasting Corporation, 94,259 flu patients were reported in a single week leading up to December 15. The total number of cases in Japan is presently recorded as 718,000.