New Delhi: Experts have downplayed reports of a respiratory viral outbreak in China that has increased hospital visits and led to a surge in deaths, raising alarm bells five years after the spread of the COVID-19 virus caused a global pandemic.
Most virologists said Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV)—a known virus that triggers a rise in respiratory illnesses every winter—may be behind the outbreak of cases.
“HMPV is a known virus and quite common in winter,” senior virologist Dr Gagandeep Kang, who is associated with the Christian Medical College (CMC) in Vellore, told ThePrint.
In general, respiratory illnesses tend to rise during the winter as the cold lowers immunity and people spend more time indoors.
“There is nothing to indicate that there is anything special going on, other than the usual winter surge in respiratory infections,” Kang added.
Virologist Dr Shahid Jameel, a fellow at Green Templeton College, University of Oxford, and a visiting professor at the Ashoka University also downplayed panic over the outbreak.
“The media reports playing up the situation in China due to the viral outbreak do not seem to be based on authentic, official information,” he said.
While “there is one report by an international news agency which cites the China Centre for Disease Control (CDC) for increased surveillance and finding an increase in several winter viruses (which is natural), including HMPV in the Northern provinces,” the scientist emphasised that there is no situation update by the World Health Organization (WHO) on the outbreak of respiratory infections.
“I don’t see a need to panic at all. Let’s wait and watch,” Jameel said.
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Most children who get infected are 5 yrs or younger
HMPV, first identified in 2001 in the Netherlands, is a common respiratory virus reported in nearly every part of the world and it most often causes upper respiratory infections.
It is similar to the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)—the pathogen behind a large number of flu cases every year in most countries across the globe.
Dr Dhiraj Bhattad, internal medicine consultant with Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai, said HMPV may comprise 10 to 12 percent of all the respiratory illnesses in children.
The majority of the people infected with the virus usually have symptoms similar to the common cold that last roughly 2-5 days and go away on their own. According to clinicians, the peak age for severe illness from HMPV is between 6 and 12 months, while RSV is more likely to cause severe illness in infants younger than 6 months.
Most children who get infected with HMPV are aged 5 or younger but a small number of children—between 5-16 percent—infected can go on to develop a lower respiratory tract infection such as pneumonia.
In a still fewer number of people—mostly young kids and the elderly—the virus can cause asthma flare-ups or make chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) worse.
HMPV infections are also more common in the winter and early spring. Experts underline that the majority of people get HMPV before they turn 5. One can get HMPV again—between 1-9 percent of all flu cases in adults, scientific estimates show, but symptoms are usually mild after the first infection.
Bhattad said that there is no specific treatment for the illness and treatment is symptomatic, including paracetamol, decongestants, and rest.
“Rarely one will need admission if there is breathlessness. Because of the advances and easy availability of diagnostic tests, HMPV is being diagnosed more along with other respiratory viruses,” said the clinician.
He also stressed that this could be the reason behind the surge being reported recently.
China, which had faced the most severe brunt of Covid-19, is at the forefront of testing and surveillance of respiratory illnesses, he said, and hence the numbers of HMPV and other respiratory infections appear to be more in China as compared to other countries.
“This is making us falsely believe that there is an outbreak there when in reality this is not another new virus threat but just one of the common cold or flu viruses,” Bhattad added.
However, he insisted on caution given that there is no vaccine for protection. He recommended vigilance and taking measures such as washing hands regularly with soap and water, avoiding close contact with people who have respiratory symptoms and wearing masks among symptomatic people and in crowded places.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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