How to save my self from HMPV 2025 ?

By Stephanie Nolen

Stephanie Nolen reports on global health.

Jan. 7, 2025

A recent rise in cases of human metapneumovirus (HMPV) in China has drawn comparisons to the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, medical experts emphasize that the current situation is far less alarming.

What is HMPV?

HMPV is a respiratory virus that has been circulating globally for decades. Most people are infected during childhood and may experience repeated infections throughout their lives. It causes symptoms similar to the flu or Covid-19, such as cough, fever, and congestion. While most cases are mild, severe infections can lead to bronchitis or pneumonia, particularly in infants, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems.

HMPV is often compared to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and like RSV, it can pose a greater risk to people with pre-existing lung conditions.

How Long Has HMPV Been Around?

Discovered in 2001, HMPV has likely been infecting humans for over 60 years. Despite its long history, it remains less recognized than influenza, Covid-19, or RSV, primarily because it is rarely tested for and often misidentified as a generic respiratory illness.

How Does HMPV Spread?

HMPV spreads through respiratory droplets, aerosols, direct contact with infected individuals, or contaminated surfaces—similar to the transmission methods of colds, flu, and Covid-19.

Is There a Vaccine or Treatment?

Currently, there is no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for HMPV. Research is ongoing to develop a combined vaccine for HMPV and RSV. Treatment focuses on symptom management.

The Situation in China

Chinese authorities have acknowledged an increase in HMPV cases, particularly among children under 14, with the northern regions of the country most affected. Officials warn that cases may peak during the Lunar New Year holiday due to increased travel and gatherings.

China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that the overall spread and severity of respiratory infections this year are expected to be lower than last year. However, to improve monitoring, China plans to establish a system for tracking cases of pneumonia from unknown origins.

Public and International Responses

Chinese citizens, many unfamiliar with HMPV, have expressed concern online, with state media urging calm and basic precautions like handwashing and avoiding crowded places.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has not flagged HMPV as a major concern, noting that the current rise in respiratory infections is typical for the winter season.

Should You Be Concerned?

While the rise in HMPV cases may evoke memories of the Covid-19 pandemic, the two situations are fundamentally different. HMPV is a well-known virus with widespread immunity, unlike Covid-19, which was an entirely new pathogen when it emerged.

However, experts stress the importance of China sharing detailed data about the outbreak to ensure there are no unexpected developments or mutations of the virus.

Conclusion

HMPV, while concerning for vulnerable populations, is a familiar virus with established global immunity. Public health officials continue to monitor the situation, but there is little reason for alarm.

What We Know About HMPV, the Virus Spreading in China

While cases are climbing in China, the situation is very different from what it was when Covid-19 emerged five years ago, medical experts say. HMPV is common and decades old.

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A chest X-ray of a four-month-old with his arms raised up to better show his lungs.

An X-ray of a four-month-old boy infected with human metapneumovirus, or H.M.P.V. Severe cases of the disease can result in bronchitis or pneumonia, particularly among infants, the elderly and immunocompromised people.Credit...Hilmes et al., Pediatric Radiology, 2017

Stephanie Nolen

By Stephanie Nolen

Stephanie Nolen covers global health.

Jan. 7, 2025, 12:01 a.m. ET

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Reports of a surge in cases of a respiratory virus in China have evoked dark echoes of the start of the Covid-19 pandemic almost exactly five years ago.

But despite the surface similarities, this situation is very different, and far less worrisome, medical experts say.

The Chinese cases are reported to be infections with human metapneumovirus, known to doctors as HMPV. Here is what we know so far:

What is HMPV?

It is one of several pathogens that circulate across the world each year, causing respiratory illnesses. HMPV is common — so common that most people will be infected while they are still children and may experience several infections in their lifetimes. In countries with months of cold weather HMPV can have an annual season, much like the flu, while in places closer to the Equator it circulates at lower levels all year long.

HMPV is similar to a virus that is better known in the United States — respiratory syncytial virus, or R.S.V. It causes symptoms much like those associated with flu and Covid, including cough, fever, nasal congestion and wheezing.

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Most HMPV infections are mild, resembling bouts of the common cold. But severe cases can result in bronchitis or pneumonia, particularly among infants, older adults and immunocompromised people. Patients with pre-existing lung conditions, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or emphysema, are at higher risk of severe outcomes.

In higher-income countries, the virus is rarely fatal; in lower-income countries, with weak health systems and poor surveillance, deaths are more common.

How long has this virus been around?

The virus was identified in 2001, but researchers say it has circulated in humans for at least 60 years. Though it is not new, it doesn’t have the name recognition of influenza, Covid or even R.S.V., said Dr. Leigh Howard, an associate professor of pediatric infectious disease at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

One reason is that it is rarely discussed by name, except when people are hospitalized with a confirmed case of it.

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“The clinical features are really difficult to distinguish from other viral illnesses, and we don’t routinely test for HMPV the way we do for Covid, flu or R.S.V.,” Dr. Howard said. “So most infections go unrecognized and are chalked up to whatever respiratory thing is going around.”

How does a person get infected with HMPV?

The virus spreads primarily through droplets or aerosols from coughing or sneezing, through direct contact with an infected individual or through exposure to contaminated surfaces — basically the same ways people get colds, flu and Covid.

Is there a vaccine? Or a treatment?

There is no vaccine against HMPV. But there is a vaccine for R.S.V., and research is underway to find a vaccination that could protect against both viruses with one shot, since they are similar. There is no antiviral treatment specifically for HMPV; treatment focuses on management of symptoms.

What is China saying about it?

The Chinese authorities have acknowledged that HMPV cases are increasing, but have emphasized that the virus is a known entity and is not a major concern. The coronavirus that causes Covid-19 was a new pathogen, so people’s immune systems had not built up defenses against it.

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At a news conference held by China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Dec. 27, Kan Biao, the director of the center’s Institute for Infectious Diseases, said that HMPV cases were rising among children 14 years and younger. The increase was especially notable in northern China, he said. Influenza cases have also increased, he said.

Cases could spike during the Lunar New Year holiday, at the end of January, when many people travel and gather in large groups, he said.

But overall, Mr. Kan said, “judging from the current situation, the scale and intensity of the spread of respiratory infectious diseases this year will be lower than last year’s.”

Official Chinese data shows that HMPV cases have been rising since mid-December, in both outpatient and emergency cases, according to Xinhua, the state news agency. Some parents and social media users were unfamiliar with the virus and were seeking advice online, the outlet said; it urged calm and ordinary precautions such as washing one’s hands frequently and avoiding crowded places.

In a routine media briefing on Friday, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry reiterated that cases of influenza and other respiratory viruses routinely increase at this time of year but that they “appear to be less severe and spread on a smaller scale compared with the previous year.”

Chinese officials said last week that it would set up a monitoring system for pneumonia of unknown origin. It will include procedures for laboratories to report cases and for disease control and prevention agencies to verify and handle them, the state broadcaster CCTV reported.

What has the public response in China been?

Online, amid comments from people saying they had never heard of HMPV and expressing concern that it was a new pathogen, state media outlets have sought to reassure people, warning them against blindly taking antiviral medications.

Some users have cracked jokes, saying that they could finally use up the masks they had stockpiled during the coronavirus pandemic. Many commenters have discussed a general uptick in illness, not just HMPV: “Why does the flu hurt so much” was trending on Weibo, a social media platform, on Monday.

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What does the World Health Organization say?

The W.H.O. has not expressed concern. Dr. Margaret Harris, a spokeswoman for the organization, cited weekly reports from the Chinese authorities that showed a predictable rise in cases.

“As expected for this time of year, the Northern Hemisphere winter, there is a month-over-month increase of acute respiratory infections, including seasonal influenza, R.S.V. and human metapneumovirus,” she said by email.

Should I worry?

The reports coming from China are evocative of those from the first, confusing days of the Covid pandemic, and the W.H.O. is still urging China to share more information about the origin of that outbreak, five years on.

But the current situation is different in key respects. Covid was a virus that spilled over into humans from animals and was previously unknown. HMPV is well studied, and there is widespread capacity to test for it. There is broad population-level immunity to this virus globally; there was none, for Covid. A severe HMPV season can strain hospital capacity — particularly pediatric wards — but does not overwhelm medical centers.

“However, it is also vital for China to share its data on this outbreak in a timely manner,” said Dr. Sanjaya Senanayake, a specialist in infectious diseases and associate professor of medicine at the Australian National University. “This includes epidemiologic data about who is getting infected. Also, we will need genomic data confirming that HMPV is the culprit, and that there aren’t any significant mutations of concern.”

Vivian Wang contributed reporting from Beijing.