World watches HMPV virus unfold in China – 10 pointers:
The mystery surrounding HMPV has already ignited speculation on social media about the likelihood of a possible ‘global lockdown’ akin to the shattering Covid-19 Pandemic (March 2020-May 2023) era.
Mumbai, Jan. 03 (bigwire): Barely released from the clutches of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic, the world watches with dismay as a new virus – Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) – has hit parts of northern China –triggering public health alarms in that country and concerns elsewhere.
Several videos, showing crowds of victims/patients, mostly children or elderly, inside jammed hospitals, queues of panicky people outside, all jostling for treatment, rekindling dark memories of the Covid-19 Pandemic years.
Certain reports suggest that China has declared an emergency, but there is no official version so far, nor is authentic data on the provinces in the grip of the virus, number of cases, fatalities, if any, available yet.
The mystery surrounding HMPV has already ignited speculation on social media about the likelihood of a possible ‘global lockdown’ akin to the shattering Covid-19 Pandemic (March 2020-May 2023) era.
10 Points to know of HMPV:
- HMPV was discovered in 2001 by a research scientist, Bernadette G. van den Hoogen, and her team in The Netherlands – adding to the existing list of around 270 known viruses in Nature that can infect humans.
- In Dec. 2024, China revealed it is monitoring ‘pneumonia cases of unknown origins’, with a likely spike in respiratory illnesses in winter, while the World Health Organisation (WHO) has reportedly sought a report on the HMPV status.
- There is no data on the HMPV infected patients in China so far. Also, there are no reports of suspected/detected HMPV cases elsewhere in the world in early-Jan. 2025.
- Countries, particularly those bordering China, keep their fingers crossed and gear up to implement suitable measures, if needed, and India is also tracking the developments.
- However, both China and India have assured “there is no cause for concern”, and all steps are being taken to tackle HMPV.
- Simultaneously, experts also grimly warned that presently there is no cure for HMPV patients.
- From the symptoms, HMPV and Covid-19 appear to be cousins – with signs of a common flu, fever, cough, nasal/chest congestion, breathlessness and the new virus can take between 3 to 6 days to incubate.
- It spreads through close contacts, coughing, sneezing, wheezing, upper-lower respiratory tract infections, or touching any infected surfaces, etc.
- If not detected/treated on time, it can lead to major complications like pneumonia or bronchitis, with potential life-threatening situations.
- HMPV infections can be kept at bay with measures like: maintain cleanliness, strict personal hygiene, shunning crowded areas, wearing face-masks and/or hand-gloves, frequently sanitize/wash hands, sneeze-cough into a tissue or hanky, avoid sharing any personal items, rest at home if ill, and most important, follow the doctor’s advice.
The unknown HMPV has rekindled the horrors witnessed during the Covid-19 Pandemic (March 2020-May 2023) era when the virus ran amok with a dance of death in 231 countries.
A total of 70,47,53,890 cases were clocked globally, plus 70,10,681 deaths (till April 2024), as per the Worldometer.
Country-wise, the USA (11,18,20,082), India (4,50,35,393) and France (4,01,38,560) led in terms of the total afflictions worldwide.
In terms of fatalities, the USA (12,19,487) topped the chart, followed by Brazil (7,11,380), India (5,33,570), during the global pandemic.
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