HMPV outbreak: UK experts call for more information on virus in China as London scientists play down risk
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Experts have called for greater monitoring of a viral outbreak in China but have stressed it does not have pandemic potential and the risk to the UK public is low. The outbreak of human metapneumovirus (hMPV) has been linked to additional strain on Chinese hospitals and has increased wider take-up of mask wearing in the country amid memories of the Covid pandemic.
But British experts have urged calm over the virus, saying it is not new and is part of a common collection of cold-like viruses which normally circulate at higher levels in winter. HMPV can cause mild cold-like symptoms but in severe cases can lead to bronchitis or pneumonia, particularly in children.
Dr Andrew Catchpole, chief scientific officer at London-based research organisation hVIVO, said “more information on the specific strain” of the virus was needed, but that experts did not consider it to have pandemic potential. “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,” he said.
“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.”. However, the risk to the public is low, he added, because any new potential variant would be closely related to existing strains, meaning most would have existing levels of immunity.
