Doctors now warn the number of cases of the HMPV virus ravaging China is doubling in the US

Western experts have publicly called on China to be more transparent about a viral outbreak overwhelming its hospitals – as data shows the virus is growing in the US.

Beijing has not yet commented on images of crowded waiting rooms and wards posted on social media, or on reports of crematoria and funeral homes full of bodies.

The outbreak in China is thought to be fueled by the relatively unknown virus human metapneumovirus (HPMV), which normally causes cold symptoms such as nasal congestion, headache, chills and fatigue.

Dr. Sanjaya Senanayake, a professor of infectious disease medicine at the Australian National University, said it is “critical for China to share its data on this outbreak in a timely manner,” including “data on who is becoming infected.”

He added: ‘We also need genomic data to confirm that HMPV is the culprit and that there are no significant mutations of concern. Such genomic data will also guide vaccine development.”

The silence from China has led some to fear there are similarities with the current situation and the 2019 Covid outbreak, which was initially downplayed by Beijing.

Their warning comes as the US experiences its own surge in HMPV cases, with positive test rates doubling from early to late December.

According to the latest CDC data, just under 300 positive test results were reported in the last week of December, the latest numbers available.

HMPV first appeared in 2001 and typically causes symptoms of the common cold.

But more serious symptoms can occur, such as bronchitis, bronchiolitis and pneumonia, with patients experiencing shortness of breath, severe coughing or wheezing.

Children, the elderly, and immunocompromised patients are at greatest risk for serious complications.

Because the virus is usually mild, the exact fatality rate is unknown. But experts estimate that in the US, between 10 and 30 percent of patients hospitalized with HMPV die.

Dr. Senanayake warned that the increase in HMPV cases in China resembles a “bad flu season” in the US and is unlikely to escalate into a global problem.

He said: ‘At this stage there is a good chance that China will experience a poor HMPV season, just as we have an overwhelming flu season in some years.

‘This could be due to a combination of viral and behavioral factors, but it should settle down.’

Vasso Apostolopoulos, professor of immunology at RMIT University in Australia, said the increase in cases and growing pressure on healthcare systems in densely populated regions such as China show the need for greater surveillance.

She said: ‘Ensuring effective monitoring and timely responses will be critical to mitigating the public health risks from this outbreak.’

China’s CDC has urged people to take precautions such as washing hands, but has pushed back against claims that hospitals will be overwhelmed.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said: ‘Respiratory tract infections tend to peak during the winter season.

“The diseases appear to be less serious and are spreading on a smaller scale than last year.”

Similar to Covid, HMPV spreads through respiratory droplets that circulate in the air when someone coughs or sneezes. Close personal contact, such as shaking hands and touching contaminated surfaces, can also spread the disease.

Researchers estimate that one in 10 respiratory illnesses in American children are caused by HMPV.

Fever, cough, congestion and shortness of breath are the most common symptoms, according to the CDC.

The CDC estimates that 20,000 children under the age of five are hospitalized with HMPV in the US each year.

There are no vaccines or specific treatments for the disease.

Professor John Tregoning, an expert in vaccine immunology at Imperial College London, said: ‘HMPV (human metapneumovirus) is not a new virus; it was first isolated in 2001, but has most likely been circulating for much longer.

‘It has (at least in children) very similar symptoms to RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). It’s part of the cocktail of winter viruses we’re exposed to.

‘As with all respiratory viruses there will be a range of symptoms and severity. Risk factors include age (very young or very old) and underlying immunosuppression.

‘Like other viruses, it is transmitted by coughing, sneezing and in droplets. Protecting yourself by being well ventilated, covering your mouth when you cough and washing your hands all help.

‘It will present itself in the same way as flu, SARS-COV-2, RSV, so the same advice applies to those affected: rest, drink fluids, try not to spread it to others.’

Professor Jill Carr, a virologist at the College of Medicine and Public Health at Flinders University in Australia, warned that the current outbreak in China is unlikely to trigger a global crisis.

She said: ‘This is very different from the COVID-19 pandemic, where the virus was completely new to humans and emerged from a spillover from animals and spread to pandemic levels because there was no previous exposure or protective immunity in the community .

‘The scientific community also has some understanding of the genetic diversity and epidemiology of HPMV, the type of impact the virus has on the lungs and established laboratory testing methods – again very different from the COVID-19 pandemic, where a new lung disease emerged. seen, there was little information about how the virus can vary and spread and we had no initial diagnostic tests.”

Andrew Easton, professor of virology at the University of Warwick in Britain, said Living Science: ‘HMPV has been recognized as a significant problem in at-risk populations worldwide since the turn of the century, when it was first discovered.

“That risk has not changed significantly in almost 25 years.”

According to the National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS), a CDC database, cases of HMPV in the US are increasing compared to this time last year.

Data from the week of December 28, the latest available, shows a test positivity rate of 1.9 percent. Of the approximately 13,800 total tests for the week, that amounts to just under 300 confirmed cases.

The test positivity rate for the week of November 30 was 0.9, half that of the following month.

And this time last year, the CDC recorded a test positivity rate of 1.2 percent.

However, Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia in Britain, said it could be difficult to detect annual increases because HMPV is detected with molecular tests such as PCR tests, which are used to detect Covid.

He said: ‘One of the issues involved with these types of infections is that they are being diagnosed more frequently as we move to molecular diagnostic panels, so it is not always easy to know whether the annual increases are due to actual increases or just because we’re diagnosing a higher proportion of infections.

He noted that while Britain has seen a “marked increase in recent weeks” similar to that in the US, cases are about the same as this time last year.

He said: ‘So overall I don’t think there is any sign of a more serious global problem at the moment.’

Dr. Jacqueline Stephens, a senior lecturer in public health at Flinders University in Australia, said: ‘I think we’re just being more cautious about outbreaks now.

“Everyone is hyper-vigilant, and you hear the term human metapneumovirus and it sounds pretty scary.”