Alleged reports from Chinese socia media suggest people going through an outbreak of HMPV cases in the country are experiencing crowded hospitals that are worse than during Covid
A grim report on the apparent wave of human metapneumovirus (hMPV) cases in China suggests some infected patients have been developing pneumonia within days.
One user of the Chinese social media app Weibo said according to the YouTube channel Decoding China that the wave was “worse than in 2022” and claimed that children suddenly die from a sudden drop in heart rate. There was a significant Covid-19 outbreak in Shanghai in February 2022 as the Omicron variant of the virus led to mass testing and strict lockdown conditions.
According to the video report posted to YouTube, a pulmonologist said that elderly patients aged 50 to 70 and were testing positive for influenza with rapidly deteriorating lung conditions and were developing pneumonia in three to five days.
Reports of what is happening in China are difficult to verify due to Chinese authorities keeping quiet on figures regarding case numbers and deaths.
Last week, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said: “Respiratory infections tend to peak during the winter season…
“The diseases appear to be less severe and spread with a smaller scale compared to the previous year.”
Some experts believe that more rigorous testing in the wake of the Covid pandemic could mean recorded cases seem higher than normal.
Margaret Harris, a spokesperson for the World Health Organisation, said this week that “China’s reported levels of respiratory infections are within the normal range”.
Adding that use of Chinese hospitals is lower than this time last year, she said: “[HMPV} was first identified in 2001. It’s been in the human population for a long time. It is a common virus that circulates in winter and spring.”
Experts have called for monitoring of the spread of HMPV amid concerns over an outbreak in China. Top boffin at the London-based research organisation hVIVO, Dr Andrew Catchpole, said that “more information on the specific strain” is required. Data on the virus outbreak is also limited due to Chinese authorities keeping shtum on the matter.
It is unclear how many people have been infected with the virus, but boffins have been quick to downplay its potential impact on the UK, stressing it is very unlikely to have effects akin to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dr Catchpole, hVIVO’s chief scientific officer said according to the Evening Standard: “HMPV is usually detected in the winter periods but it does seem that the rates of serious infection may be higher in China than what we would expect in a normal year.
“We need more information on the specific strain that is circulating to start to understand if this is the usual circulating strains or if the virus causing high infection rates in China has some differences.”
There isn’t a huge cause for concern in the UK just yet. UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data reveals that the rate doubled in the UK within a fortnight.
The UKHSA has reported that the percentage of respiratory problems in hospital testing positive for this potentially lethal illness stood at 4.53% in the week leading up to December 23 – the most recent statistics available.
However, the actual figure is likely higher. In comparison, the percentage was at 2.42% in the week leading up to December 9 earlier in the month, the Mirror reports.
Symptoms of HMPV are generally mild and similar to the common cold. A person with HMPV may experience a cough, temperature, sore throat, wheezing and a runny nose. More severe cases of HMPV may develop into pneumonia or bronchitis
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.
By staronline@reachplc.com (Benjamin Lynch)
Source link
