Cases of Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) have surged in the UK after causing healthcare problems in China, India and Malaysia – one doctor has shared an unusual warning sign
Cases of Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) have surged in the UK(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
A medical expert revealed a crucial symptom to look out for as a surge in cases of the HMPV virus hit the UK.
Researchers in the Netherlands studied multiple cases and found that a rash often appears on the chest, abdomen, pelvis and back. Studies in the US and Italy have also reported instances of rashes among patients, with other symptoms such as seizures and vomiting. Common signs of the infection, which is often mistaken for a cold, flu, or Covid, include a runny or blocked nose, sore throat, and fever lasting for five days, reports WalesOnline.
The news comes as the virus sweeps China’s neighbouring countries and a medical expert has shared his thoughts on whether face masks could be mandatory in the UK.
Studies in the US and Italy have also reported instances of rashes among patients(Image: Getty Images)
The virus can cause severe symptoms, potentially requiring hospitalisation, particularly for individuals with existing lung conditions, compromised immunity, elderly people, or young children.
Professor John Tregoning of Imperial College London, warned the virus is contagious and can spread through coughs, sneezes and droplets. He said: “It is part of the cocktail of winter viruses that we are exposed to and, like other viruses, it will transmit in coughs, sneezes and in droplets.”
Meanwhile, Professor Paul Griffin, director of infectious diseases at Mater Health Services in Brisbane, Australia, cautioned: “It certainly can and does cause severe disease.”
The UK Health Security Agency has reported a worrying trend with one in 10 kids hospital-tested for breathing troubles, revealing HMPV at the end of December – a grim spike from numbers seen just a month before.
Computer illustration of particles of HMPV(Image: Getty Images/Science Photo Library RF)READ MORE: Strip club suspended from Musk’s X for ‘hate speech’ after cheeky swipe at Trump
Paul Hunter, a Professor of Medicine at the University of East Anglia, shared on The Conversation: “HMPV is one of the commoner respiratory viruses. Even after childhood, we can expect multiple repeat infections throughout life. The disease is found around the world, with most infections occurring during the winter months. The virus causes an illness that is very difficult to distinguish from many other respiratory infections without testing.
“Most infections are a mild cold-like illness, and people recover within about two to five days. However, in young children, the illness can be more severe and similar to the chest infection caused by RSV. HMPV in children generally doesn’t cause as severe an illness as RSV and is less likely to require admission to an intensive care unit.
An art teacher paints a poster to raise awareness against the spread of the HMPV virus in Mumbai(Image: NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“In older adults (over 65), and those with certain existing health conditions, HMPV can cause more severe disease. This is particularly the case in people who have heart and lung disease, including asthma. There is no specific treatment for HMPV. Instead, patients are made comfortable until they recover on their own. If people become very ill then treatment consists of supporting normal breathing.
“There is no vaccine against HMPV. However, several vaccines are in the process of being developed. A combined HMPV and RSV mRNA vaccine has recently started trials.
“In the UK, HMPV-positive samples increased substantially in the weeks before Christmas rising to 4.5% of samples tested in the last week. The most recent data from the first week of January suggests that infection numbers may have already peaked and the proportion of samples positive remains about 4.5%.
‘In the UK, HMPV-positive samples increased substantially in the weeks before Christmas'(Image: Getty Images)
“In the same week, 21.9% tested positive for flu, a fall from 27.7% the week previously. The HMPV results for the same week last year and the year before that are about the same. So in the UK at least, levels of HMPV infections seem to be about what we would expect for this time of the year.
“We will have to wait to see whether HMPV infections start to decline through January. The situation in the UK is reflected in the US, though as yet rates in the US are still well below last winter’s peak.
“In China, reports of HMPV infections have indeed been rising in recent weeks in the more northerly regions. But so have reports of all the other respiratory pathogens including seasonal flu, rhinovirus and RSV.
Pedestrians walk past a wall mural promoting awareness on using face masks in India(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
“In China, influenza remains the most commonly detected respiratory virus, just like in the west. In its latest report, the World Health Organization has suggested that, currently, the increase in respiratory pathogens in China is “within the range expected for this time of year”. If health services are being overwhelmed in China, flu is much more likely to be the main concern.
“So, I think we can be pretty confident that we are not going to see a substantial additional global risk to public health from HMPV.
“The situation with HMPV is very different from the situation with COVID in early 2020. Unlike COVID, HMPV is not a new infection and there is already substantial immunity in most people from many previous infections.
“Also, the ‘F protein’ one of the main targets on the surface of HMPV our antibodies latch on to in order to neutralise it has remained stable for decades suggesting that a new variant is unlikely.
“But we should never be complacent about any infectious disease and so we need to continue to monitor what is happening in China and change our risk assessments if necessary.”