Everything Australians need to know about the HMPV virus ravaging China
Australians have been told not to panic over an outbreak of the respiratory infection metapneumovirus (HMPV) that is reportedly overwhelming hospitals in China, but experts are closely monitoring the situation.
Beijing has played down images of crowded waiting rooms and wards on social media, saying respiratory infections are “less severe” and “smaller in size” compared to last year.
That has led some to fear there are similarities with the current situation and the 2019 Covid outbreak, which was initially downplayed by China.
At the same time, data from Britain shows a rise in cases in recent weeks.
According to virus monitoring data from the UK Health Security Agency, as of December 23, one in 10 children tested for respiratory infections in hospitals were found to be positive for HMPV.
However, leading epidemiologist Professor Catherine Bennett has reassured the public that the HPMPV outbreak is not currently a significant threat in Australia as it is summer here – a season less conducive to respiratory infections.
“In winter, our hospitalizations for respiratory diseases are always at their highest, and that’s what China is going through right now,” she explained.
HMPV typically causes cold-like symptoms, including coughing, runny or stuffy nose, sore throat, and fever that go away after about five days.
Australians have been alarmed by reports from China of outbreaks of human metapneumovirus (HMPV). A waiting room of a clinic in China is shown
The above are excerpts from videos purporting to show overwhelmed hospitals in China
But more serious symptoms can occur, such as bronchitis, bronchiolitis and pneumonia, with patients experiencing shortness of breath, severe coughing or wheezing.
There is not yet a vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for HMPV and treatment mainly consists of controlling symptoms.
HMPV spreads through tiny droplets emitted by infected people when they breathe, but to a much greater extent when they cough and sneeze.
Infection can occur when people inhale these droplets near them or by touching contaminated surfaces, such as door handles, and then touching their face or mouth.
People with HMPV can also spread the virus even though they have no symptoms because they are still contagious before they start to feel sick.
Unlike COVID, HMPV is not a new virus to humans; the first case of human infection was reported in the Netherlands in 2001.
“They compare it to COVID, but COVID was essentially a new human virus. No one had good immunity to COVID, so we were all vulnerable.”
“HMPV, on the other hand, is a virus that has been known for a century,” Professor Bennett explained. “It’s actually something that happens quite often.”
However, she cautioned that it is crucial to remain actively involved in monitoring the spread of the disease as viruses are constantly evolving over time.
Experts have warned that HMPV, which causes flu-like symptoms, can linger in the body for days and can easily be passed on to others.
‘The reason other countries are monitoring the situation is to check for an unusual increase in cases – more than is normally seen.’
“They want to make sure that the virus has not changed and that our vulnerability has not increased.”
Dr. Sanjaya Senanayake, an infectious disease specialist and associate professor of medicine and psychology 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.’
Virus expert Dr Andrew Catchpole said it is unclear how high the number of cases is in China.
“HMPV is usually detected in the winter period, but it appears that the number of serious infections in China may be higher than what we would expect in a normal year,” he explained.
‘We need more information about the specific strain circulating to understand whether these are the usual circulating strains or whether the virus causing high infection rates in China has some differences.’
Promisingly, Dr. Catchpole notes that while hMPV “mutates and changes over time as new strains emerge,” it is “not a virus that is considered to have pandemic potential.”
Professor Jill Carr, a virologist at Flinders University’s College of Medicine and Public Health, also warned that the current outbreak in China is unlikely to trigger a global crisis.
Leading epidemiologist Professor Catherine Bennett has reassured the public that the HPMPV outbreak is not currently a significant threat in Australia as it is summer here – a season less conducive to respiratory infections.
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 HMPV, 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 was identified. seen, there was little information about how the virus can vary and spread and we had no initial diagnostic tests.”
Dr. Jacqueline Stephens, associate professor of public health at Flinders University, agrees.
“I think we’re just being more careful about outbreaks now.”
“Everyone is hyper-vigilant, and you hear the term human metapneumovirus and it sounds pretty scary.”