HMPV symptoms as new China virus 'overwhelming hospitals' - but it's not like Covid

Fears of another Covid-like pandemic are growing as cases of the human metapneumovirus, also known as HMPV, surge in northern China. Chinese authorities first issued warnings about HMPV in 2023, but reports suggest that cases may be on the rise again during China’s winter season.

Recent weeks have seen social media flooded with images of hospitals in China overrun with masked individuals. The country’s centre for disease control (CDC) has urged people to maintain health and hygiene precautions, while also refuting online claims of overwhelmed hospitals and fears of another pandemic.

Health experts have reassured that HMPV is not like Covid, highlighting that the virus has been present for decades. Prof Sir Andrew Pollard, Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Oxford University, stated: "Human metapneumovirus virus is a common respiratory virus which was first identified almost a quarter of a century ago by Dutch scientists."

The virus is known to cause a respiratory illness in babies and the elderly, potentially leading to hospitalisation.

Read more: Drivers facing extra £21 charge from January

However, in most other age groups, it simply causes cold-like symptoms, according to Prof Pollard. He added: "It is one of the many viruses which circulate in the winter and add to the winter pressures on the NHS. "The reports of respiratory infections in China in the past few days appear to be attributed to both influenza and this human meta pneumovirus, which is rather similar to the.

This week, the UK is facing a health situation. Prof John Tregoning, Professor in Vaccine Immunology at Imperial College London, explains that the symptoms of this illness are very similar to RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), especially in children.

RSV is a common cause of coughs and colds, which usually resolve on their own but can sometimes be serious for babies and older adults. "As with all respiratory viruses, there will be a range of symptoms and severity," adds Prof Tregoning.

The NHS states that most people with an RSV infection, which presents similar symptoms to HMPV, experience cold-like symptoms such as a runny or blocked nose, a cough, sneezing, tiredness, and a high temperature. Babies may also be irritable and feed less than usual.

If a more serious infection occurs, it may cause a worsening cough, shortness of breath, faster breathing or long gaps between breaths, difficulty feeding or loss of appetite, noisy breathing (wheezing), and confusion in older adults.

Prof Paul Hunter, Professor in Medicine at UEA, says symptoms usually recover by themselves within two to five days. He advises: "Just occasionally it can cause more severe disease in the elderly, the very young (under two years of age) or medically vulnerable. It is one of the leading viral causes of respiratory infection."