The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is closely monitoring reports of a spike in human metapneumovirus (HMPV) in China.
HMPV, which was discovered in 2001, is common but underdiagnosed due to its similarities to the common cold, according to the CDC.
Cases of the virus in the United States are at “pre-pandemic” levels and are not “a cause for concern” at the moment, but there is a large spike in northern China, especially in children 14 and under, according to media reports in Beijing.
Chinese government officials said the reported spike coincides with seasonal illness and seems to be less severe than in other years.
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“Respiratory infections tend to peak during the winter season,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.
Dr. Eileen Schneider, a medical epidemiologist in the CDC’s Division of Viral Diseases, said HMPV is “associated with approximately 20,000 hospitalizations among children younger than 5 years.”
The virus can also be a cause for concern in “older adults and immunocompromised patients.”
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Schneider said HMPV presentation is usually mild and can include respiratory symptoms such as cough, fever and nasal congestion.
“The symptoms are often clinically indistinguishable from infection with other common respiratory viruses, such as flu and respiratory syncytial virus,” she said.
There is no vaccine or cure for the virus at this time, the CDC said, but the infection typically does improve with resting, drinking fluids and over-the-counter medication.
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