Health experts have issued an urgent warning over HMPV’s hidden symptoms as the rate of cases doubled in the UK in just two weeks.
The virus, also known as the human metapneumovirus, has seen a surge of cases in Malaysia, India and Kazakhstan as well as in China. UK health officials said the percentage of positive cases in the UK was at 2.42 per cent in the week leading up to December 9.
The UK Health Security Agency said there was a slight upward trend in HMPV cases across the country with positive lab test results reaching 4.5 per cent as of January 3, although the figure is believed to be higher. The agency said on Monday that data indicated cases were following its usual seasonal pattern in the UK.
HMPV expert delivers verdict on virus’s connection with Covid-19 pandemic
The UK Health Security Agency said there had been an upward trend in cases
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According to Public Health Scotland the disease in humans tends to be mild and moderate, although it can be severe in untreated children, the elderly and immunocompromised. The most common symptoms include:
- Common cold or flu-like symptoms (cough, runny nose or nasal congestion, fever and/or chills)
- Asthma flare-ups
- Sore throat
- Wheezing
- Dyspnoea (shortness of breath)
More severe symptoms include inflammation of the airways of the lungs and inflammation and congestion in the small airways of the lungs in young children and infants as well as pneumonia. The estimated incubation period for HMPV is between three and six days.
There are other symptoms of the common cold that people should be aware of, according to the NHS. Cold symptoms typically come on gradually over two to three says and last between one to two weeks. Typical symptoms of a common cold include: Sneezing, blocked or runny nose, a sore throat, hoarse voice, cough and feeling tired or unwell. They can also include:
- A high temperature
- Aching muscles
- A loss of taste and smell
- A feeling of pressure in your ears and face
Brits have been urged to wash their hands regularly and wear masks in, or avoid crowded place when possible. People who are eligible to get the winter flu vaccine have been urged to do so if they have not already.
HMPV is not as dangerous as COVID-19, although in severe cases it can prove fatal in young children and the immunocompromised such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. The virus has been described as a “common part of the winter cold causing viruses in most countries with seasonality.”
Dr Andrew Catchpole, a scientist at medical testing company hVIVO, previously said of cases in the UK: “It is not usual to be a major concern for high numbers of hospitalizations, but it is unclear just how high the numbers are or if issues are arising purely due to coinciding with high flu and Covid levels.”
He added: “Whilst hMPV does mutate and change over time with new strains emerging, it is not a virus that we consider to have pandemic potential. This is because the changes in hMPV are gradual and based on previously circulating strains.”