The rise in human metapneumovirus cases in China is 'unusual', says WHO – National
Rising cases of common respiratory diseases in China and elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere are within the range expected for winter, with no rare outbreaks reported, the World Health Organization said.
Reports of increasing cases in China of human metapneumovirus (hMPV), a common respiratory infection, have grabbed headlines around the world, with reports of overwhelmed hospitals recalling the start of the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago.
However, the WHO said in a statement on Tuesday evening that it was in contact with health officials in China and had not yet received reports of an unusual outbreak there. Chinese authorities have also informed the UN health organization that the health system is not overwhelmed and no emergency responses have been calculated.
The WHO said Chinese data through December 29 showed detections of hMPV, seasonal influenza, rhinovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) have all increased in recent weeks, especially in northern China. Influenza is currently the most commonly reported cause of illness, it said.
Masked children, accompanied by adults, wait to be seen by medical staff at the pediatric ward of a hospital in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang province, on January 6, 2025.
Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images
“The observed increase in acute respiratory infections and related pathogen detection in many countries in the Northern Hemisphere in recent weeks is expected at this time of year and is not unusual,” WHO said.
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HMPV usually causes flu-like symptoms for a few days but in rare cases can lead to hospitalization in the very young, elderly or vulnerable. Unlike the virus that caused COVID-19, which was new, hMPV was first identified in 2001 and may have been circulating for a long time, scientists said.
A number of other countries, including India and the United Kingdom, have also reported increased cases of hMPV this winter, along with other respiratory infections, in line with seasonal trends that can sometimes overwhelm hospitals.
“Almost every child will have at least one hMPV infection by their fifth birthday,” says Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia in the UK. States are also getting better at diagnosing the disease, he said, which may be the cause of the rising rates.
“Overall, I don't think there is currently any sign of a serious global crisis,” he said.
