New Year, news about a respiratory virus, cases of which are growing in China, more and more information in the media… Sounds familiar, right? The bad news is that it’s not remember 2020, although it could have been, but what is happening now. Again. The good news is that the virus in question, known as metapneumovirusappears to be quite moderate, and according to health authorities in China and the rest of the world, the risk of another pandemic due to this Chinese virus This is a very low figure.
In fact, one of the big differences with the COVID-19 virus is that it is not new. When did the first cases of infection appear? SARS-CoV-2 In 2019, the Asian country’s health workers found themselves very out of place. It was qRNA viruswhat caused respiratory symptomsbut it did not correspond to any known one. It soon became clear that it was a coronavirus, but not one of those that had already been described, but a new one. The threat of something new made it harder to contain him. On the other hand, metapneumovirus has been known since 2001.
It’s not even a Chinese virus. It was discovered in Holland and since then cases have been reported in many other countries. This usually causes mild respiratory symptoms They primarily affect infants and children, although cases have also been observed in immunocompromised adults. It is the fact that they all belong to very vulnerable groups that is the biggest problem with metapneumovirus, since the symptoms are mild, but sometimes They can be complicated by pneumonia. That is why we must pay attention, but without panic, to what is happening in China.
What’s happening with the Chinese virus?
Although this is not a Chinese virus, it has been in an Asian country where the alarm has gone off, as it did in late 2019 and early 2020.
Metapneumovirus is an RNA virus, like COVID-19, although it does not belong to its family, but to the family respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Like RSV, it primarily affects children, as you may have seen in recent weeks in China.
At the moment, exact figures have not been made public, but it is known that the number of children under 14 years of age has been affected, especially in northern provinces of the country, follows an upward trend that is already overwhelmed several hospitals. Additionally, although the outbreak initially affected only China, three cases were identified in India in infants. It is logical that this has caused alarm and led to the necessary measures to contain the disease, but it is not true that a health emergency has been declared, as some media have indicated in recent days. Neither in China nor in India.
Many children have transmitted metapneumovirus without even knowing it.
Metapneumovirus is a respiratory virus that causes fever, nasal congestion, cough and difficulty breathing. They don’t exist vaccines or antiviral drugs to cure it, so it usually goes away on its own. At best, individual symptoms can be treated.
Given that the symptoms are very common, can be confused with a variety of respiratory symptoms, from COVID-19 to the common cold. For this reason, it is possible that many children go through this without even knowing it. It is estimated that 90% of children worldwide have had the virus at least once. before turning 5 years old. In addition, it accounts for 3% to 10% of hospitalizations for acute lower respiratory tract infections in children this age.
All this indicates that the Chinese virus is very different from the COVID-19 virus. We know him, he has been with us for a long time and at the moment did not lead to any pandemic.
What does the Chinese virus have in common with COVID-19?
Although there are still doubts about its origin, it is clear that the COVID-19 virus originated in humans. due to zoonoses. Perhaps it arose in bats, although there must have been transitional look which is not yet clear.
In the case of metapneumovirus, it is assumed that it also came to us through zoonosis. Although it was first described in 2001, genetic analysis has shown that It could have been with us for half a century. Moreover, the same analyzes showed strong similarity to avian metapneumovirus, indicating that humans contract it from birds.
On the other hand, the greatest similarity between this virus and SARS-Cov2 is that they are preventable. in the same way. It is necessary to increase hand washing, the use of masks for respiratory symptoms or when in contact with vulnerable people, the gesture of coughing or sneezing into your elbow and all those measures that are so familiar to us and which, unfortunately, many of them have. forgot.
Even today we must take all these measures in times of respiratory viruses. It doesn’t matter if it’s the flu, COVID-19 or RSV. We must take steps to ensure the virus does not reach the most vulnerable. We don’t need to encounter a new Chinese virus to remember it. China is already taking the necessary measures. The risk of a pandemic is low.
Source: Hiper Textual
