HMPV outbreak in U.S. has limited impact on China: Chinese CDC

(ECNS) -- The early outbreak of human metapneumovirus (HMPV), a respiratory virus, in the United States has a limited impact on China, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday.

According to the center, HMPV cases are possibly spread to China due to personnel exchanges between the two countries that resumed in the beginning of 2023. However, the infected cases in the U.S. have significantly reduced and China has entered summer, with the climatic conditions not suitable for the spread of the epidemic.

Cases of HMPV spiked in the U.S. during this spring, according to the U.S. CDC’s respiratory virus surveillance systems, drawing concern of the world. But since late April, the positive rate of HMPV has been declining rapidly, and had already dropped to a low level by late May.

After an analysis of the monitoring data of respiratory infectious diseases from 2009 to 2019, the Chinese CDC found that the HMPV was the bottom among eight viruses causing acute respiratory infections, with a positive rate of 4.1 percent, far lower than that of influenza virus (28.5 percent).