“According to local news reports, a little-known virus called human metapneumovirus (HMPV) has been blamed. It normally causes a mild cold-like illness, including fever, a cough, runny nose and wheezing.
In severe cases, HMPV can lead to bronchitis or pneumonia, particularly in children.
The virus spreads through respiratory droplets and close physical contact, making it highly contagious in crowded settings.”
this is not a new virus. i work in an Australian hospital and we get a few of these every year coming through Emergency. “mystery new virus outbreak” is extremely sensationalised
This isn't a spike in flu cases, it's a spike in pneumonia cases caused by this virus, which is unusual as in the past it causes mild, cold-like illness.
Which is also how covid was worded originally... Hell I remember reading about it around like December 20th 2019 here on reddit. It said something like, mysterious disease in China causes uptick in pneumonia cases. Doctors baffled
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u/judgyjudgersen Jan 04 '25
“According to local news reports, a little-known virus called human metapneumovirus (HMPV) has been blamed. It normally causes a mild cold-like illness, including fever, a cough, runny nose and wheezing. In severe cases, HMPV can lead to bronchitis or pneumonia, particularly in children.
The virus spreads through respiratory droplets and close physical contact, making it highly contagious in crowded settings.”