After China, HMPV Virus Cases Surge In Malaysia

HMPV in Malaysia: A surge in the number of cases of human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is seen in Malaysia, after it was reported in China, this year. A 45% increase from last year has been seen as per the government reports. The world is now closely looking at the HMPV and accounting for its cases after China reported a sharp surge in respiratory illness over the last few weeks.

As per the Strait Times, the Malaysian health ministry urged its people to remain vigilant. The advisory also asked public to be prepared for an increase in respiratory tract infection as it will continue to increase due to extreme weather conditions. As of now, Malaysia witnessed 327 new HMPV cases in 2024, up from 225 cases reported in 2023.

Read for HMPV Virus Symptoms, Causes , Treatment and Prevention

Safety Measures

If reports were to be believed, the best way to prevent the virus from spreading is through hygienic sanitary practices. This includes washing hands with soap, wearing a face mask and covering your nose and mouth while coughing or sneezing. These are similar safety measures which were also implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. As per experts, this spike in the beginning and end of the year during extreme winters is expected.

What is happening in China?

It has been fiver years since COVID-19 outbreak was reported, and now China is making the headlines due to the outbreak of yet another respiratory illness. As per sources, HMPV infection is growing at an exponential rate and as a result, there has been a burden on health facilities and crematories.

The Chinese health authorities have implemented a pilot system to combat this upsurge. This involves tracking cases of pneumonia with unknown origins. These efforts are launched by China's disease control agency to increase preparedness for respiratory outbreaks during the winter months.

Who are at most risk?

The virus has affected vulnerable populations, including children whose immune systems are still not fully developed, and elderly persons who already have a pre-existing respiratory diseases.

What are the common symptoms?

The symptoms are flu-like, they include:

• Fever
• Coughing
• Nasal congestion
• Runny Nose
• Sore Throat
• Nausea and vomiting

In some severe cases, a person may have bronchitis or pneumonia and also increase the risk of asthma or COPD.

Is it contagious?

Like any other respiratory diseases, this too can be spread through contaminated respiratory droplets from infected person to a healthy person. It could spread through sneezing, coughing or through aerosolized microorganism through touching.

Origin

As per the 2022 study titled Zoonotic Origins of Human Metapneumovirus: A Journey from Birds to Humans, the metapneumovirus are member of the family Pneumoviridae and have been identified earlier in birds, also known as the avian metapneumoviruses (AMPV). This is why HMPV and AMPV are closely related.

HMPV was first discovered in 2001, however, studies show that it has been circulating for at least 50 years.

The novel pneumovirus first identified in South African turkey farm was identified soon in farms throughout Western Europe, Asia, and South America. However, it took 23 years after the discovery of AMPV for HMPV to be discovered. In 2001, a Dutch group performed virus isolations from clinical samples from 28 epidemiologically unrelated children. They all shared common characteristics of suffering from respiratory tract infection and RSV. The study revealed that they were infected by HMPV infection and the same study revealed that this virus has been circulating since last 50 years.