Verdicts have been drawn on a deadly virus currently surging in China which has already been on the rise in UK hospitals.
Human metapneumovirus causes cold-like symptoms and has been known to lead to further health complications or even, in particularly vulnerable patients, death. Reports of the illness overwhelming hospitals in China has resulted in comparisons drawn with the onset of Covid five years ago.
But doctors have been divided on how much of a risk the virus poses worldwide – with the CDC saying it did not consider it a genuine threat to US citizens. It comes amidst a winter where NHS wards are already struggling to meet demand due to soaring winter flu cases, with several hospital trusts declaring critical incidents in recent days.
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WHO says it is in contact with Chinese health authorities
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Data from the UKHSA shows a rise in the rate of patients testing positive for HMPV in the seven days leading up to December 29. The authority however has stated this surge was in line with the trend commonly seen at this time of year.
Now the World Health Organization has stated it does not consider the current streak of HMPV cases as anything irregular for the winter months. Addressing concerns, WHO released a statement saying it was “in contact with Chinese health officials”.
In a statement, a WHO spokesperson said: “Based on data published by China, covering the period up to 29 December 2024, acute respiratory infections have increased during recent weeks and detections of seasonal influenza, rhinovirus, RSV, and hMPV, particularly in northern provinces of China have also increased. The observed increase in respiratory pathogen detections is within the range expected for this time of year during the Northern hemisphere winter.”
They added: “WHO is in contact with Chinese health officials and has not received any reports of unusual outbreak patterns. Chinese authorities report that the health care system is not overwhelmed and there have been no emergency declarations or responses triggered. WHO continues to monitor respiratory illnesses at global, regional and country levels through collaborative surveillance systems, and provides updates as needed.”
However, leading UK doctors have expressed concerns about the information coming from China, citing the need for “clarity” on the situation. Dr Andrew Catchpole, Chief Scientific Officer at testing firm hVIVO, said: “We need more information on the specific strain that is circulating to start to understand if this is the usual circulating strains or if the virus causing high infection rates in China has some differences.”
He added: “It is unclear just how high the numbers are or if issues are arising purely due to coinciding with high flu and Covid levels.” Dr Catchpole has also added, however, that the virus was known to “mutate and change over time with new strains emerging”, adding it was “not a virus considered to have pandemic potential”.