HMPV – common but little known respiratory virus

Last winter we were infected with three different viruses, RSV, influenza and covid-19, but just as those infections began to subside, a fourth, unknown virus took off.

The relatively unknown human pneumonia virus, HMPV, which causes runny nose, fever, sore throat, cough and pneumonia, increased during the spring, according to the US CDC, according to its reports. CNN.

He got sick more than usual this spring

In the United States, HMPV has filled intensive care units with infected infants and the elderly, who are most vulnerable to this virus.

In mid-March, these infections peaked in the United States, when nearly 11 percent of samples tested were positive for HMPV, which is more than the seasonal average of 7 percent.

Most infected people probably didn’t know they had HMPV, outside of hospitals and emergency rooms patients are not usually tested for the virus.

A common cause of respiratory infections

There is no vaccine for HPV and no antiviral medications to treat it, and instead doctors must treat the symptoms of infected people, such as those of a respiratory syncytial virus infection.

According to studies, each year HMPV causes as much misery in the United States as the closely related RSV.

A study of patient samples collected over a 25-year period showed that HMPV was the second most common cause of respiratory tract infection in children, after RSV.

A study conducted over four New York winters showed that HMPV was as common among hospitalized elderly as RSV and influenza.

Epidemics in the Northern Hemisphere

HMPV was discovered in 2021, but studies show the virus has been around the world for several decades, he writes. Public Health Authority.

During the winter months, HMPV causes epidemics in the northern hemisphere and can occur at the same time as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and since the two related viruses produce similar symptoms, it can be difficult to tell them apart.

Samples from Swedish children with respiratory infections from the early 2000s showed that less than one percent were caused by the hepatitis C virus.

Other studies estimate that 1-15 percent of respiratory infections among children under the age of five may be caused by the hepatitis C virus, the Public Health Agency writes.

Anyone can become infected with HMPV

By the age of five, according to the Public Health Agency, most children have antibodies against HMPV, but these antibodies do not provide lasting immunity.

Anyone can become infected with HMPV, but those who develop symptoms and become ill are mainly children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems.

Want to read the latest news about finance and life sciences? This is how easy it is to get our free services news service.

Read more: Vaccine fatigue is causing fewer people to take the flu vaccine [Dagens PS]