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Rising cases of common respiratory diseases in China and elsewhere around the northern hemisphere are within the range expected for winter, with no unusual outbreaks reported, the World Health Organization said.
Reports of an increase in cases in China of human metapneumovirus (hMPV), a common respiratory infection, have grabbed headlines worldwide, with reports of overwhelmed hospitals recalling the start of the COVID-19 pandemic just over five years ago.
However, the WHO said in a statement on Tuesday evening that it was in contact with Chinese health officials and had received no reports of unusual patterns of outbreaks there. The Chinese authorities have also informed the UN health agency that the health system is not overwhelmed and no emergency responses have been activated.
The WHO said that Chinese data up to December 29 detections of hMPV, seasonal flu, rhinovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) have all increased in recent weeks, especially in northern parts of China. Influenza is currently the most commonly reported cause of illness, it said.
Masked children, accompanied by adults, wait to be seen by medical staff at the pediatric ward of a hospital in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang province, on January 6, 2025.
Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images
“The observed increase in acute respiratory infections and associated pathogen detections in many countries in the northern hemisphere in recent weeks is expected at this time of the year and is not unusual,” added the WHO.
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HMPV typically causes cold symptoms for a few days, but in rare cases can lead to hospitalization among the very young, old or medically vulnerable. Unlike the virus that causes COVID-19, which was new, hMPV was first identified in 2001 and has likely been circulating much longer, scientists said.
A number of other countries, including India and the United Kingdom, have also reported increasing cases of hMPV this winter, as well as other respiratory infections, in line with seasonal trends that can sometimes stretch hospitals.
“Almost every child will have at least one infection with hMPV by their fifth birthday,” said Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom. Countries are also getting better at diagnosing the disease, he said, which may be a factor in rising rates.
“Overall, I don’t think there’s any sign of a more serious global problem right now,” he said.
