Remember the Coronavirus? Most of us have experienced the treacherous years of the early 2020s locked up at home and forced to attend school or work in the virtual world. What a time to think back on. Recently, however, words spread that a new “deadly” virus known as the human metapneumovirus, or HMPV, is running rampant again in China. According to The Guardian, news about tightly packed hospitals and overrun faculty members scrambling to treat the sick has circulated. This chaos has caused people on social media platforms to claim they have “played these games before,” having experienced the same situation just five short years ago. There are unconfirmed cases of HMPV outside of China, such as in countries like the UK. With that said, should we be worried?
HMPV, similar to the common cold and the flu, attacks the respiratory system, inflicting coughing and other flu-like symptoms. According to the Cleveland Clinic, HMPV spreads extremely similar to the cold or flu through being coughed/sneezed on, touching, or coming in contact with contaminated surfaces. As a result of how common and similar it is to the common cold, experts interviewed by The Guardian, such as Dr Jacqueline Stephens from Flinders University in Australia, claim that “The symptoms of HMPV are similar to a cold or flu, and it is one of several viruses often lumped under a broad definition of the ‘common cold.’ It is not a notifiable disease like Covid-19 or influenza.” Other experts in China also claim that a potential reason for a sudden spike in diagnosis could be the advancement in medical technology, which allowed doctors and medical professionals to diagnose patients better. It almost sounds like there’s no concern about HMPV and that it would blow over like every other “flu-like” virus that has plagued our time, right?
Fortunately, that is the case. HMPV is only in the news because the CDC aims to push back on the chaos spread through social media. Members of the CDC encourage using surface-level precautions such as “including hand washing, cleaning surfaces, and staying home when sick.” HMPV may become a virus that will pass within a few months, just like how MPOX passed. However, we should still stay vigilant and take extra precautions to prevent the spread of cold-like diseases, especially considering minimal treatment options. Even with the current fatality rate of HMPV being only 1 in 1000, no one wants a repeat of quarantine.
