China plays down mystery virus outbreak as hospitals ‘overwhelmed’ with patients in eerie echo of Covid five years ago
CHINESE hospitals are reportedly becoming rapidly overwhelmed with people suffering from a mysterious virus in an eerie echo of Covid.
Concerning footage appears to show several medical rooms packed with masked patients as officials remain tight-lipped over the latest outbreak.
The unverified yet worrying videos started to pop up across social media on New Year’s Eve with more being posted across the last few days.
Some claim to show hospitals in Hunan — a province in southern China as well as the surroundings areas.
Locals say the issues are particularity affecting children’s hospitals.
Local media say the influx of reported sicknesses is due to a dangerous virus most people have never even heard of called human metapneumovirus (HMPV).
It normally causes a mild cold-like illness which can quickly lead to hospitalisation and in the worst case death for the most vulnerable.
The Chinese authorities are yet to confirm what they believe is causing hospital waiting lists to swell.
Government officials and the World Health Organisation are yet to comment on the social media footage of the hospitals either.
But official reports from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have suggested the problems could just be a regular flu.
They say 30 per cent of tests are coming back positive for influenza.
The organisation has also been keen to downplay any serious fears as they announced that one in seven people who are being hospitalised also test positive.
The CDC acknowledged the rates of flu-like issues are on the rise as China sits in the midst of it cold winter months.
Official reports of any serious health complications or even fatalities are yet to be released but locals have claimed the outbreak has already cost some lives.
US-based news outlet Aboluowang News says they spoke to a farmer in the Hunan Province who is becoming concerned over the mystery illness.
He told the site: “A lot of people have caught colds, and most of them have [illness].
“About seven or eight people died this week in this area. Some were in their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 40s.”
Unverified reports are also claiming Chinese crematoriums and funeral homes are being overrun with requests from people.
A separate funeral director named Ms Wang reportedly stated: “There are long lines for cremation now, today, three VIP furnaces were opened.”
The scenes are reminiscent of Covid which is believed to have ripped through China five years ago before spreading across the globe.
Over seven million people are said to have died due to Covid related complications in the years since the outbreak was first reported.
Then in 2022, China was again gripped by a dramatic spike in flu-like symptoms due to “white lung”.
Cases of mycoplasma pneumonia also rose as the outbreak was mainly blamed on children with low immune systems.
What is human metapneumovirus and what are the symptoms?
HUMAN metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a respiratory pathogen closely related to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
It is associated with a range of illnesses, from mild infection to severe bronchitis and pneumonia.
Symptoms may include:
- Runny nose
- Cough
- Temperature
- Sore throat
- Wheezing
Like RSV, HMPV is thought to be a seasonal virus occurring mostly during the winter months.
However, the number of people which suffer from it each year is still to be determined.
Studies suggest that the majority of people have had HMPV infection by the age of five.
But it has been found in older children and adults, suggesting re-infection can occur later in life.
HMPV commonly clears up on its own, but supportive treatments such as antihistamines and breathing assistance are sometimes provided.
Source: gov.uk