Five years on from the first news of COVID, recent reports of an obscure respiratory virus in China may understandably raise concerns.

Pressure on China’s healthcare system is thought to be driven by a virus called human metapneumovirus (hMPV) that causes flu or cold-like symptoms, as well as other typical winter viruses including flu.

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Human metapneumovirus (HMPV), active in late winter and spring, is currently surging in countries like China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and India, particularly affecting young children, seniors, and those with weakened immune systems.

Young children, older adults and those with weakened immune systems are at a higher risk of developing severe illness due to HMPV.

While cases are climbing in China, the situation is very different from what it was when Covid-19 emerged five years ago, medical experts say. HMPV has circulated in humans for decades.

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Experts say the disease is likely not going to be the next pandemic and the worry is a result of heightened wariness for respiratory illness in a post-Covid world. HMPV is a respiratory virus that regularly circulates during cold and flu season.