The recent surge of respiratory infections across northern China and other parts of Asia sparked a wave of fear and misinformation on social networks and in the news suggesting another COVID-19-like pandemic could be imminent.
China is reportedly dealing with a spike of a flulike respiratory infection whose symptoms include coughing, fever, nasal congestion and wheezing, caused by human metapneumovirus, or HMPV.
Health authorities in Malaysia, India, Kazakhstan and elsewhere have also recorded cases of HMPV.
A video showing a hospital in China crowded with individuals apparently suffering from respiratory diseases has become viral on social media, reanimating pandemic fears.
On Jan. 5, India TV broadcast a report that included the hospital video with a graphic overlay that said, “Virus outbreak sparks epidemic threat.”
The station reported that China is facing “a COVID-like scare again,” saying, “It has been suggested that mysterious metapneumovirus is making hundreds of people sick.”
That report cited unconfirmed social media claims that hospitals and cemeteries in China “are overwhelmed.”
The report showed a graphic model of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, hovering over a map of China. The text accompanying that graphic stated, “New China Virus?”
Apart from the televised broadcast, India TV posted that report on X to its 6.2 million followers and on YouTube to its nearly 10 million subscribers.
The title accompanying those social media posts said, “Mysterious virus HMPV reported in China! Can HMPV outbreak spread to India?”
India TV’s claims that HMPV is a mysterious virus, or speculation that a new virus may have arisen out of China, are false.
HMPV is a well-known virus that was discovered in 2001 in the Netherlands, and belongs to the Pneumoviridae family of viruses, which includes respiratory syncytial virus, commonly known as RSV.
The World Health Organization says most HMPV cases are mild, with symptoms similar to the common cold.
“There is no ‘mystery illness’ circulating in China at this time,” the WHO press office told VOA in written comment.
With fears of a “new China virus” on the rise in India, Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda told the public on Jan. 6 that “HMPV is not a new virus.”
“There is no reason to worry. We are closely monitoring the situation,” he said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says HMPV is most active during late winter and spring and can “circulate simultaneously during the respiratory virus season” with RSV and influenza, commonly known as the flu.
U.S. news outlet Nexstar reported that the CDC is monitoring reports of the uptick in HMPV cases in China, citing the agency’s spokesperson.
“CDC is aware of reported increases of HMPV in China and is in regular contact with international partners and monitoring reports of increased disease,” the spokesperson said.
Data from the CDC’s National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System, which monitors viral activity in the United States, shows cases of HMPV have been on the rise in the U.S. since Nov. 2 but remain near typical “pre-pandemic” levels.
A similar pattern has emerged in China.
The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Jan. 2 that there has been a month-over-month increase of acute respiratory infections, including seasonal influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and HMPV.
Such an increase is “expected for this time of year” during the Northern Hemisphere winter. Moreover, the reported level of influenza activity in China is “less than the same period last year,” WHO media relations told VOA.
China’s state-run China Daily reported on Dec. 27 that instances of HMPV and rhinovirus infections, the predominant cause of the common cold, have risen among toddlers ages 4 and children ages 14 and under.
When asked about the video of individuals suffering from the flu circulating on social media, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, “The diseases appear to be less severe and spread on a smaller scale compared with the previous year.”
Still, Dr. Sanjaya Senanayake, an infectious diseases specialist and associate professor of medicine at Australian National University, told Britain’s Independent online newspaper that it is “vital” for China to share infection data on HMPV in a “timely manner.”
China has repeatedly faced accusations of refusing to share raw data on the initial coronavirus outbreak and criticism that Beijing’s unwillingness to release that information was hindering efforts to prevent future outbreaks.
Beijing has denied allegations it did not share information on the virus in a timely or open manner.
On Dec. 31, five years after the novel coronavirus was reported in Wuhan, China, WHO once again called on Beijing “to share data and access so we can understand the origins of COVID-19.”
