nearly 5 years after the covid-19 outbreak China may now have a mystery virus on the prow according to reports China has been battling an outbreak of human meta numo virus or hmpv what is known about it how dangerous is it as per the information available so far hmpv causes symptoms symptoms similar to influenza as well as covid-19 however unlike the two it currently does not have any corresponding vaccine how concerning is that let's first tell you more about what is known according to experts hmpv infections Rose in mainland China over the past few days in
the northern Province in China reportedly the infection rate has shown an upward trend on Friday China's diseases Control Authority said that it was piloting a monitoring system for pneumonia who whose origin is unknown as of now the Chinese medical body reportedly also said that cases of some respiratory diseases are expected to rise through the winter it's reportedly to establish a dedicated system that can help the authorities set up protocols to handle unknown pathogens not just that according to the state broadcaster CCTV the national Disease Control and prevention Administration is set to establish a separate procedure
for Laboratories to report as well as for prevention agencies to verify and handle cases you see all of this is happening and is being closely looked at given the backdrop of the covid-19 Mayhem responding to this outbreak the deputy director of Taiwan Centers for Disease Control or CDC has said that Taiwan is closely monitoring the virus as well why is that as it suspects that the outbreak might also affect Taiwan meanwhile in Hong Kong a leading epidemology has recently reportedly said that levels of hmpv remained low even amid the outbreak in mainland China but what
exactly is hmpv and what do we know about it according to the official of thawan CDC it is a common type of respiratory virus that mainly causes more s more serious illness in young children and older adults as well as those with compromised immune systems in others the symptomss of this infection are in fact quite similar to those of the common cold therefore symptoms commonly associated with hmpv include cough fever nasal congestion and shortness of breath however clinical symptoms of hmpv infection May progress to bronchitis or pneumonia and are similar to other viruses that cause
upper and lower respiratory infections now can it turn deadly according to the Chinese CDC while the virus usually poses no major risks those with pre-existing lung conditions like asthma chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Etc are at a higher risk of severe outcomes how does it get transmitted hmpv most likely gets spread from an infected person to others through secretions from coughing and sneezing and close personal contacts such as touching or shaking hands or even touching parts of the face after touching objects or surfaces which may be contaminated with the virus I know what you're thinking sounds
a lot like co9 right perhaps sounds like a nightmarish Deja Vu nobody wants to play out in real life well the similarities are simply hard to miss however there is one big difference a crucial one that stands out the fact that hmpv has no vaccine as of now nor does it have an effective cure medical experts in fact saying that it's still mostly unknown to the general public and this makes a difference when it comes to raising awareness surrounding it you see it may be purely incidental that almost 5 Years After official cases of co9
were first recorded that China is battling another virus outbreak however what happened then and what happens now can be separated by one factor the factor of transparency you see there are several reports critical accounts suggesting that China had withheld critical information in the early stages of the covid-19 outbreak not just that as per investigations that were LED postco 19 researchers were said to have isolated and mapped the virus causing covid-19 this was at least two weeks before Beijing revealed details of the virus to the world this time around will that change can China be expected
to take the outbreak of hmpv a lot more seriously also exercise transparency regarding the plausible dangers that the virus may be posing in China and Beyond as well as China's plans to tackle the virus should it turn even more severe in the coming days [Music]
