Experts advise against panicking about HMPV virus

Although there has been a lot of news recently about the Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) - a respiratory virus that causes symptoms similar to the common cold or flu, Australian experts say the virus is not unfamiliar to the people of this country, so there is no need to panic.

Associate Professor of Medicine Sanjaya Senanayake at the Australian National University said the virus was first reported in 2001.

It appears the virus has been infecting humans for a longer period of time, but the right technology is needed to detect it, he said. There is currently no vaccine for HMPV, but severe cases can be treated in hospital.

Associate Professor Senannayake said it was important to share data on this outbreak in a timely manner, including epidemiological data on those infected and genomic data confirming that HMPV was the culprit.

Associate Professor Senanayake said the genomic data would also inform vaccine development, which is already underway.

Meanwhile, Jaya Dantas, professor of international medicine at Curtin University, said HMPV can cause a cough, a stuffy or runny nose, and difficulty breathing. However, the severity of the infection varies.

In young children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems, the virus can lead to severe cases and can travel to the lower respiratory tract, leading to pneumonia.

According to Professor Dantas, people should take necessary precautions such as PCR (Polymerase chain reaction) testing to identify the virus, stay at home if they are infected and wear masks in public to protect the most vulnerable.

Meanwhile, Professor Jill Carr, a virologist at Flinders University, said the current situation was not yet comparable to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With COVID-19, the virus is completely new to humans and emerged from an animal spillover and has spread to pandemic proportions due to a lack of prior understanding of the virus or protective immunity in the population, said Professor Carr.

Meanwhile, the scientific community has some understanding of the genetic diversity and epidemiology of HMPV and its impact on the lungs, as well as established laboratory testing methods for its detection.

Previously, on January 5, Australian Health Minister Mark Butler said the government was monitoring the situation of this virus around the world and continuously updating information.

Minister Butler also said that HMPV was "quite prevalent" in Australia "for a long time," citing figures that showed it was the fifth most common respiratory disease by 2024. So, he said, it was a disease that Australians were quite familiar with.