Guwahati, Jan. 13 -- Paul Hunter, University of East Anglia

In the last few days, there have been reports of yet another infectious disease rapidly spreading in China. This time the virus is human metapneumovirus, abbreviated to HMPV.

There have been claims in some media outlets that this surge in infections is overwhelming hospitals in China. On the other hand, the current wave of infections is not out of the ordinary for this time of the year, according to the World Health Organization.

So what is the real situation and what is HMPV anyway? HMPV is a respiratory virus in the same family as the more commonly known respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). It is not a new infection and has probably been circulating in humans for centuries.

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