BEIJING: China is seeing a surge in flu and respiratory illnesses, with hospitals overflowing with sick patients.<\/p>\n
Viral videos circulating on social media show crowded hospitals, raising concerns about a new outbreak.<\/p>\n
The respiratory virus, identified as human metapneumovirus (HMPV<\/a>), is spreading rapidly in northern Chinese provinces, mainly affecting children and the elderly.<\/p>\n While many nations are closely monitoring the situation, Beijing has downplayed concerns, calling it a winter phenomenon.<\/p>\n The World Health Organization (WHO) has not declared it a global health emergency, but the rising cases have prompted Chinese health authorities to strengthen surveillance systems.<\/p>\n Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a respiratory virus that causes flu-like symptoms similar to the common cold.<\/p>\n Although usually mild, it can cause severe complications such as pneumonia, especially in infants, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems.<\/p>\n HMPV is not a new virus \u2014 it was first identified in 2001. It is a single-stranded RNA virus that spreads through respiratory droplets (coughs, sneezes) or contaminated surfaces. The virus has been detected in several countries, including the UK.<\/p>\n Although anyone can get HMPV, the virus poses the greatest risk to young children, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems.<\/p>\n Children under five years of age are particularly vulnerable, with 5% to 16% of cases progressing to severe respiratory infections such as pneumonia.<\/p>\n Unlike COVID-19, there is no vaccine or antiviral treatment for HMPV.<\/p>\n Management primarily involves symptom control, including:<\/p>\n In severe cases, it can lead to:<\/p>\n Infants under one-year-old, elderly individuals, and those with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of developing severe respiratory illnesses.<\/p>\n Health experts suggest that while there is no immediate cause for panic, those at higher risk should take preventive measures, especially during the winter and spring months.<\/p>\n To reduce the risk of infection, people should:<\/p>\n The virus usually lasts between 3 and 6 days, and most people recover without complications. However, if symptoms worsen, high-risk individuals should seek medical attention.<\/p>\n As HMPV cases continue to rise in China, experts are stressing the importance of awareness and precautions to prevent its spread.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" BEIJING: China is seeing a surge in flu and respiratory illnesses, with hospitals overflowing with sick patients. Viral videos circulating on social media show crowded hospitals, raising concerns about a new outbreak. The respiratory virus, identified as human metapneumovirus (HMPV), is spreading rapidly in northern Chinese provinces, mainly affecting children and the elderly. While many […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":26844,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[25537,25536,25448],"class_list":["post-61592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-hmpv","tag-hmpv-virus","tag-how-to-prevent-hmpv-virus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61592"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61595,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61592\/revisions\/61595"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What is HMPV?\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n
Treatment & precautions<\/h2>\n
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HMPV Symptoms<\/h2>\n
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How to stay safe?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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