New HMPV virus outbreak grips China, Indian health agency says 'no cause for alarm'
Op IndiaFive years after the COVID-19 virus erupted in China and subsequently had the world in its throes, another potential epidemic seems to have gripped the nation as infections indicate a steady uptick. Indian health agency says HMPV outbreak not a cause for alarm A senior official from the Directorate General of Health Services, Dr Atul Goel, has urged the public not to panic over reports of the spread of Human Metapneumovirus in China. The government’s response follows unverified reports from China of a marked rise in viral infections concerning the spread of the human metapneumovirus, with videos showing overcrowded hospitals and crematoriums. The reports and social media discussions have nevertheless fueled concerns and public anxiety over the outbreak, especially after China downplayed the surging infections—an eerily similar denial that preceded the eventual outbreak of COVID-19. Though experts say the threat of HMPV transforming itself into a COVID-19 outbreak is slim, China’s characteristic reticence and the suppression of public discussion over the outbreak have stoked fears among other nations and governments, forcing them to treat the situation with caution and account for a possibility where a mutated version of the virus could be both more infectious and virulent.