Beijing: China faced the new wave of the human metapneumovirus (HMPV) outbreak in recent weeks, similar to the COVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic. Getting this report, hospitals in several provinces are filled with patients as per alerts and emergencies. It has sparked concern internationally, with China still largely quiet on the seriousness of the infections.
As expected, the HMPV bound for hospitals, which many patients were affected by, showed a similar pattern of the symptoms that were present in the COVID-19 case, which became cough, fever, and nasal congestion. Videos on social media of owners and patients packing hospitals and people wearing face masks cause additional expansion of widespread fears related to the propagation of a viral disease. The virus is thought to be exported in saliva, similar to Covid-19.
The existence of the HMPV virus has been identified in many parts of China, such as Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Hebei, and Guangzhou. According to sources, these regions are under lockdown measures due to the pressure that hospitals are experiencing when handling the increasing numbers of infections.
It is important to note that the WHO has not categorised the outbreak as being a global health emergency. Though other close countries are following the situation very closely. Some health departments in India have even provided advisories, but these have ensured people that HMPV cannot be termed as a severe pathology and should not lead to panic as it is just a respiratory virus.
Fears over HMPV have risen because the virus is believed to affect children and the elderly in particular. The virus has also been reported to result in severe respiratory illness within these populations similar to that observed with influenza and Covid-19.
Similarly, around seven hundred students from a primary school in a town of Linxiang city, Yunnan province, were affected, and they presented with gastrointestinal problems associated with norovirus. This particular experience epitomises continued trials created by different viral outbreaks in the China region.
While the by-far authorities try to contain the HMPV, they have established a pilot progressive follow-up system in a bid to monitor the pneumonia incidences and coordinate on reporting and managing the HMPV infections.
However, much doubt exists concerning the openness of information being disseminated by Chinese health officials.
On the same note, health officials underscore the need to remain alert and ready in order to counter risks of diseases from respiratory viruses.
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