The human metapneumovirus (HMPV) outbreak in China is attracting attention due to local reports of cases spreading in some parts of the country.
HMPV is a virus that was first identified by a research group in the Netherlands in 2001, and was likely circulating in human populations for many years before that.
News of the outbreak came after China’s National Disease Control and Prevention Administration announced it was testing a new reporting protocol in response to pneumonia cases.
In a press conference reported by China’s state broadcaster CCTV, health officials noted that many common disease-causing infections were spreading among the country’s population during the cold months and reliance on antiviral drugs to combat the disease. Issued a warning about doing so.
What is the current status of HMPV?
The current HMPV situation in China is a new outbreak of a known and relatively well-understood virus that has probably been circulating among humans for hundreds of years.
HMPV cases have reportedly increased among young people in northern parts of China in recent weeks. Cases of rhinovirus (which causes the common cold) have also increased.
Across the border, India’s Health Ministry has confirmed two cases of the disease in the country’s Karnataka state. a statement that HMPV is endemic worldwide, and that no “unusual increase” in cases of flu or severe respiratory disease has been recorded in the country.
Epidemiologists elsewhere have softened suggestions of a major health emergency.
Jacqueline Stephens, an epidemiologist at Flinders University, said: “The increased prevalence is a typical seasonal increase seen in winter. The higher prevalence reported in children also reflects what we know about this virus: it is a common childhood respiratory disease. has a common cause.” Australia.
Jill Carr, a virologist at Flinders University, said the HMPV outbreak in China is very different from the COVID-19 pandemic, where the virus was completely new to humans and there was no protective immunity.
Is HMPV the same as COVID-19 or flu?
HMPV comes from the same viral family as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which also causes short-term respiratory infections.
And like RSV, hMPV is a seasonal infection that occurs in colder months and is likely to reach epidemic levels, where there are high rates of infection at a particular time.
Until a Dutch research group first identified the hMPV virus in 28 Dutch children in 2001, hMPV cases were often misdiagnosed as RSV due to similar symptoms.
“We found that almost all children over the age of five had antibodies against [HMPV] Viruses,” Albert Osterhaus, a virologist at the Veterinary University in Hanover, Germany, who led that first studyTold DW.
Oosterhaus and colleagues have since determined that hMPV has been circulating in humans for hundreds of years.
Unlike coronaviruses and influenza viruses, HMPV also appears to be relatively stable. This means that as mutations occur, reinfection occurs over time due to waning immunity.
“Influenza viruses are really champions at mutation,” Osterhaus said. ,[HMPV] “Relatively stable and we’ve looked at both RSV and HMPV viruses from 10-15 years ago and we’ve seen some changes, but not huge changes.”
What are the symptoms of HMPV?
HMPV causes upper and lower respiratory tract infections, with many of the same symptoms as the disease caused by its relative RSV.
Symptoms can include cough, fever, and blocked nose, which are also often caused by other viruses. In mild cases, this can make diagnosis difficult.
More serious cases can cause pneumonia or bronchitis.
Like other respiratory diseases, HMPV is contagious. Transmission occurs through contact with airborne droplets released when an infected person coughs or sneezes, as well as through contact with contaminated surfaces, including physical contact with hands or skin.
While anyone can become infected with hMPV, very young children and the elderly are at the highest risk of developing severe disease.
Is there a treatment or vaccine for hMPV?
There is currently no treatment or vaccine for hMPV.
Preventive measures include good hygiene, avoiding contact with infected people (or, if infected, staying home), and wearing a mask.
A suitable vaccine is in development. Oosterhaus said the vaccine could lead to a “revolution” for RSV vaccines.
“We know how to make them these days and so they are used in elderly people, pregnant women and, efforts are being made to make them for small infants as well.
“For HMPV, I think, in theory, because the virus is so similar to RSV, I would expect that the companies that are working on developing an RSV vaccine HMPV would be next,” he said.
Oosterhaus predicted that an HMPV vaccine would be ready “in the coming years.”
Edited by: Fred Schwaler
Source:
A newly discovered human pneumovirus isolated from young children with respiratory tract disease
