The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are currently “monitoring” reports of increasing cases of human metapneumovirus in China’s northern provinces, even though rates of the infection in the U.S. remain near typical “pre-pandemic” levels, the agency said.
“CDC is aware of reported increases of HMPV in China and is in regular contact with international partners and monitoring reports of increased disease,” a spokesperson for the CDC told Nexstar in an emailed statement on Monday.
“These reports are not currently a cause for concern in the U.S.,” the spokesperson added.
The CDC’s actions come in response to China’s government-run media confirming that positivity rates of HMPV are rising in children under the age of 14, despite respiratory illnesses being down overall since last year.
Human metapneumovirus, or HMPV, is not a novel respiratory virus, having first been discovered in 2001 (though possibly present for several decades prior). HMPV is also relatively common, infecting “most” of the population before they reach the age of 5, according to Dr. Eileen Schneider, an epidemiologist with the CDC.
HMPV usually circulates during flu season (or slightly later), when it causes both upper and lower respiratory infections in patients. Symptoms are similar to the common cold, including coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and congestion, according to the CDC. For this reason, it is sometimes not detected or diagnosed as HMPV.
Like other respiratory infections, HMPV can be especially severe for the elderly, those with compromised immune systems and children under 5. Schneider, in 2016, cited research that indicated HMPV was associated with “approximately 20,000” annual hospitalizations among U.S. children. Infections can also lead to bronchitis or pneumonia, Schneider noted.
People with existing respiratory conditions like asthma or emphysema are also at risk of more severe symptoms, the American Lung Association warns.
Current data from the National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS), which compiles case reports from labs around the U.S., currently indicates that 1.94% of submitted diagnostic PCR tests for HMPV were positive in the week ending on Dec. 28. This marks a very slight upward trend over recent months, but nothing concerning.
For comparison, rates of positive HMPV tests were more than four times higher (peaking at 8.11%) in the spring of 2024, and more than five times higher (peaking at 10.99%) in the spring of 2023.
Since there are currently no vaccines or treatment therapies for HMPV, prevention and preventing the spread of HMPV is especially important. The public is advised to wash hands often and avoid coming into contact with those infected with HMPV, if possible. Patients who have HMPV are also urged to refrain from coughing or sneezing openly, sharing utensils, or leaving home when sick, among other measures.
China, meanwhile, also announced that its National Disease Control and Prevention Administration will be launching a new system to verify and monitor any respiratory diseases of “unknown origin,” Reuters reported. The program was launched, in part, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the outlet.
Health officials with the CDC will continue to monitor HMPV activity in the United States.
“We can expect that existing surveillance systems will rapidly detect any increase in HMPV cases in the U.S.,” a CDC spokesperson said. “CDC will continue to monitor and provide important updates to the public.”
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