A virus that virtually nobody has ever heard of has spread across the US, causing A 36 percent jump in cases in 2023 in accordance with recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The human metapneumovirus or HMPV is a respiratory disease that causes symptoms much like the common cold: cough, fever, congestion, runny nose, sore throat and shortness of breath, in accordance with the Cleveland Clinic.
That is why most individuals assume they’ve a chilly or the flu. But amongst young children, the elderly and other people with weakened immune systems, HMPV could make them sick enough to send them to hospital.
No wonder most individuals have never heard of HMPV — the virus wasn’t discovered until 2001.
Nevertheless, when scientists tested blood samples way back to the Nineteen Fifties, they found evidence that the virus had been circulating for at the least 50 years, reports CNN.
“Still, I think that many individuals, even in healthcare, are unaware of this virus,” John V. Williams, professor of pediatrics, microbiology and molecular genetics on the University of Pittsburgh, he said within the Conversation.
HMPV is “an important virus you have never heard of,” said Dr. Williams.
![image of HMPV virus](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/NYPICHPDPICT000011986888.jpg?w=1024)
HMPV cases typically increase in January, peak in March and April, then decline because the weather warms in May. The spike in HMPV cases in 2023 could also be resulting from people becoming less resilient after years of wearing masks and social distancing through the COVID-19 pandemic.
HMVP treatment
Most individuals with HMPV infection recuperate after a number of days of resting, drinking fluids, and taking over-the-counter decongestants and painkillers.
Most kids had HMPV before the age of five. But for some young children, the disease can take a worrying turn.
![an image of a child with a cough caused by the HMPV virus](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/NYPICHPDPICT000011951150-1.jpg?w=1024)
HMVP in infants
In 2015 study from the Journal of Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, infants and kids under two years of age were essentially the most incessantly hospitalized for HMPV. And 18 percent of hospitalized children were treated in an intensive care unit, and 6 percent required mechanical ventilation because of respiration difficulties.
A study published within the Lancet estimated that in 2018, HMPV caused 643,000 hospital admissions and 16,100 deaths worldwide amongst children under 5 years of age.
There is currently no cure or vaccine for the disease, but that would soon change: Moderna, the maker of the COVID-19 vaccine, began early HMPV vaccine clinical trials.
Until such a vaccine is developed, doctors recommend the standard precautions against HMPV and other respiratory viruses: washing your hands often, avoiding people who find themselves sick, and staying home in the event you feel unwell.