By Greg Glasgow | University of Colorado Anschutz Medical
The buzz is growing about an increase of respiratory virus cases in China, but Adriana Weinberg, MD, professor of infectious diseases in the Departments of pediatrics and medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, says the news is no cause for alarm.
Unlike the COVID-19 virus in 2020, Weinberg says, the current virus reportedly on the rise in China is one that has been around for decades, commonly circulates during respiratory virus season — along with influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) — and is well known to health care professionals.
Known as human metapneumovirus (HMPV), the virus is reported to be on the rise in China. A spokesperson for the World Health Organization recently told ABC News that “there has been a recent rise in acute respiratory infections,” but that “the overall scale and intensity of respiratory infectious diseases in China this year are lower than last year.”
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