Chinese New Year to ‘spark rise in thriller HMPV’ as sufferers given 3-point recommendation
People will be moving around more and congregating in tight crowded areas as part of the celebrations on January 29 – perfect conditions for the spread of respiratory illnesses like the HMPV virus
Chinese New Year celebrations at the end of the month will see a “rise” in human metapneumovirus (HMPV) hospitalisations in China, an expert has warned. Shocking footage of kids – some still in their infancy – being treated in crowded hospitals in the Asian nation has been circulating on social media.
HMPV, which disproportionately impacts children has even forced schools in Wuhan – the area many associate with the birth of the Covid-19 pandemic – to shut in a bid to cut transmission rates. The concerning spread of the respiratory illness comes as China prepares to celebrate the New Year on January 29.
People congregating in crowded, tight spaces as part of the celebrations and friends and family travelling to be together on the big day mean the HMPV is “likely” to spread. Professor of Health Systems at Dublin City University Antony Staines told the Daily Star: “Like any other respiratory virus, when people move around more, you are likely to get more cases.
“So, in Ireland and the UK, it is Christmas and New Year. In China, it is particularly the Chinese New Year. There is likely to be more cases but the Chinese authorities monitor cases carefully.
“People all over the world monitor cases carefully. If anything different happens, we will know about it very quickly. Most people who get this, it is a minor illness for a couple of days. They should stay home, drink water and take paracetamol. Try not to spread it to your friends, family and work colleagues.
“For some people, it can be more serious than that. But in the context of everything else that is going on with Covid, flu, RSV and norovirus, I don’t think the metapneumovirus is going to make much difference either way.”
Prof Staines added that the HMPV has been in circulation in the UK for many years and he doesn’t expect it’s spread in China to have much of an impact on Britain. He said: “It is not likely there will be a huge outbreak of the metapneumovirus in the UK but there is always cases.
“And there has been cases for many, many years. There is no reason to believe it will be any different this year from last year or the year before.”
When asked if the Chinese New Year celebrations will lead to more hospitalisations in China, Prof Staines said, “It is very likely from this (HMPV) and everything else that is circulating. Just like ourselves, they have flu, they have RSV – these all bump up a bit around Chinese New Year.
“It is just the biology of these viruses. They go up when people mix – especially in crowded settings. They often have street parties in Chinese New Year. Street parties are a pretty safe way of celebrating.”
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