MANILA — A total of 284 cases of human metapneumovirus (HMPV) were logged in the country last year, but the viral illness, which is surging in China, is not new and is only mild, the Department of Health (DOH) pointed out on Wednesday.
Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said these cases accounted for 5.8 percent of the 4,921 samples taken from Jan. 1 to Dec. 21, 2024.
“HMPV is being detected sporadically, with no unusual clustering or pattern, throughout the year,” Herbosa said in a statement.
The HMPV was discovered in 2001 by Dutch researchers in nasopharyngeal aspirate samples from children with respiratory infections caused by unknown pathogens.
“HMPV is not a new virus,” Herbosa said. “We have been able to identify it for a long time.”
“Its symptoms are not severe. Like the common cough and cold, it heals on its own as long as our resistance is strong,” he added.
DOH noted that there is an “upward trend” of HMPV and other respiratory illnesses in China, but it noted that this trend is expected during the winter season there.
This clarification comes as social media posts state that a new disease outbreak in China is causing “international health concern,” a claim already denied by the Chinese embassy in Manila. (John Eric Mendoza © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
