Patients who have fallen ill from a little-known virus causing fear in China have described some of the horrible symptoms they suffered.
Diane Davison, 60, an attorney from Maryland, was struck by human metapneumovirus (HPMV) in April 2023 and was left “unable to speak” due to “violent” coughing fits.
He initially thought it could be Covid or the flu because many of the symptoms overlap, such as fever, cough, stuffy nose and sore throat.
After six negative Covid tests, Ms Davison, who is immunocompromised, knew something was wrong. Of all the respiratory infections he had ever had, this was “the worst I’ve ever experienced,” he said.
Detailing her ordeal, she said: “I couldn’t get out more than a couple of words. I would get a violent, very violent cough, to the point that I was literally almost vomiting.’
After more tests and nose and throat swaps, doctors discovered that the lawyer actually had HMPV. Mrs Davison said: “I was like, ‘What?’ Because it sounds really scary.
HMPV, which some doctors describe as “the most important virus you’ve never heard of,” has been blamed for a viral outbreak in China that is reportedly overwhelming hospitals in the country’s northern provinces.
Beijing has downplayed images of crowded waiting rooms and wards posted on social media, saying respiratory infections are “less serious” and “smaller in scale” compared with last year.
Diane Davison, 60, an entertainment attorney from Maryland, was struck by HMPV and left “unable to speak” due to “violent” coughing fits.
But some fear there are similarities with the current situation and the Covid outbreak in 2019, which was initially downplayed by China.
Dr. John Williams, a pediatrician at the University of Pittsburgh who has dedicated his career to researching vaccines and treatments for HMPV, says the pathogen is one of the viruses most likely to hospitalize people and even kill children and people. vulnerable, since there are no vaccines or medications to treat. he.
HMPV is similar to other seasonal viruses such as RSV, which causes common cold symptoms. HMPV is thought to account for about 1 in 10 respiratory illnesses in children.
Although most cases are mild, some patients can develop a lower respiratory tract infection such as pneumonia or, as in Ms Davison’s case, bronchitis, inflammation of the bronchi in the lungs, causing cough and other symptoms.
Davison was sick for about a month and then got better, but has urged others not to dismiss the infection as mild.
American TikTok creator @alymoreno32 claimed in one of her clips that her baby was hit by HMPV in March 2024.
She said his condition deteriorated quickly and he was rushed to the hospital because he couldn’t breathe.
The mother of three wrote in the comments section: “It sounded so bad.” (He) didn’t eat, he didn’t move.’
HMPV was first identified in 2001 and infects thousands of Americans each year. According to the latest CDC data, just under 300 positive tests were reported during the last week of December, the latest numbers available, which is normal for this time of year.
The CDC says it is “monitoring” cases in China, but believes they are “not currently a cause for concern in the United States.”
About 20,000 children under age five in the United States are hospitalized with HMPV each year, and a few hundred of them die from the disease.
The US CDC said it is “monitoring” cases in China, but believes they are “not currently a cause for concern in the US.”
TikTok creator @alymoreno32 revealed in one of her clips that her baby was hit by HMPV in March 2024.
Experts have warned that the virus, which produces flu-like symptoms, can remain in the body for days and can therefore easily be transmitted to other people.
The situation in China is similar to an outbreak in the winter of 2023/24, when its hospitals were overrun with Mycoplasma pneumoniae patients.
The condition, called “white lung” because of the small white specks it leaves on x-rays of the lungs, is usually mild, similar to HMPV.
But that outbreak was linked in part to weak population immunity in China as a result of its draconian lockdowns and anti-Covid measures, which were among some of the toughest in the world.
Experts say lack of exposure to seasonal germs leaves people vulnerable when they eventually become infected, especially children.
Commenting on the current situation in China, Dr Andrew Catchpole, scientific director of research organization hVIVO, said: “HMPV is usually detected in winter periods, but it appears that severe infection rates may be higher in China than we would think.” expect in a normal year.
“We need more information about the specific strain that is circulating to begin to understand whether these are the commonly circulating strains or whether the virus causing high infection rates in China has some differences.”
Beijing acknowledged the rise in HMPV cases and attributed it to a seasonal increase.
In northern China, the current rise in HMPV cases aligns with the region’s cold temperatures, which are expected to persist into March.
Other northern hemispheres, including China among others, are experiencing a higher prevalence of HMPV, Jacqueline Stephens, an epidemiologist at Flinders University in Australia, told the BBC.
“While this is concerning, the increase in prevalence is likely the normal seasonal increase seen in the winter,” he said.
HMPV was discovered by Dutch researchers in 2001 from samples of children in the Netherlands with unexplained respiratory infections.
Some were seriously ill and needed to be on a ventilator, but they did not test positive for any pathogens.
The scientists looked at the virus’s genes and saw that it was closely related to the avian metapneumovirus, which infects birds.
The new virus was named human metapneumovirus.
Researchers believe it jumped from birds to humans and then evolved.
Ms. Davison is one of the few American patients to share her story about fighting HMPV.
SOUTHERN PROVINCES: The above shows the proportion of outpatient visits due to flu-like illnesses in the southern provinces during previous years. The red line is for the 2024 to 2025 flu season.
NORTHERN PROVINCES: The graph above shows the proportion of hospital visits for flu-like illnesses in the northern provinces by week. The red line corresponds to the 2024-2025 flu season and shows that levels are at their highest level since 2021.
As with the flu, babies and the elderly are most at risk because their immune systems are still developing or deteriorating.
HMPV is spread through direct or close contact with an infected person, such as coughing, shaking hands, sneezing, or touching infected objects or surfaces.
One study found it was the second most common cause of respiratory infections in children after respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which usually causes mild cold-like symptoms but affects infants and older adults most.
HMPV and RSV belong to the Pneumoviridae family.
While HMPV mutates and changes over time with the emergence of new strains, Dr. Catchpole says it is “not a virus that we consider to have pandemic potential.”
He explains: ‘This is because changes in HMPV are gradual and based on previously circulating strains.
‘Pandemics occur when a totally new virus enters the human population, as is the case with Covid.
«Or in the case of influenza, when a totally new variant of the virus enters the human population by combining with a human version of the virus and an animal version of the virus from what is known as an animal reservoir.
«There is no animal reservoir of viruses related to HMPV.
“This means that even if HMPV in China is currently a new variant of the virus, it is very likely to be significantly related to previously circulating strains of HMPV, so there will be some level of pre-existing immunity from exposure to previously related viruses. , which will significantly reduce the burden of disease in healthy people.’