END OF DAYS: Pharmacies Flooded With Panic-Gripped Crowds Rushing to Stock Up on 'Miracle Pills' to Stave Off Deadly HMPV Virus
Pharmacies in China are being overrun by panic-gripped crowds desperate for 'miracle drug' to stave off the HMPV virus.
Jan. 9 2025, Published 2:44 p.m. ET
Pharmacies in China have become inundated with people trying to buy "miracle pills" amid the spread of the deadly HMPV virus.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the flu-like bug, which mostly affects vulnerable people and children, is spreading across the country but it remains unclear how many cases there currently are.
Authorities continue to keep the number of cases secret but a surge of people affected by the virus has increased fears of a Covid-style pandemic.
Chinese authorities are keeping information limited but worrying footage of chaotic overcrowding in hospitals, with patients hooked up to IV drips in waiting rooms, has only increased fears of the "mysterious virus" which continues to cause devastation.
Masked-up patients can be seen in Beijing Children's Hospital as they battle the infectious bug. One mom was spotted trying to comfort a baby that appeared to have a drip connected to its head.
There is no vaccine for the virus, leading some to search for a pill they believe will help.
According to reports, some pharmacies are starting to ramp up prices of a medication named Xofluza to 300yuan (€40) a box and each box comes with two pills.
The main ingredient of Xofluza is Baloxavir Marboxil, which is an antiviral medication and it's dubbed a "miracle pill" for treating influenza-like symptoms.
One worker at a local pharmacy in Jinan city said: "It's out of stock. Baloxavir marboxil, it's sold out this morning. We have to wait for restock tomorrow. We are selling them at 227yuan."
Health experts have stated HMPV is not like Covid and point out it has been around for many years.
In central China's Zhengzhou city, a pharmacy worker told local media: "Tamiflu used to be the go-to medicine but this Xofluza is imported goods so it's not cheap.
"We are selling it around 200yuan, we see a lot of people asking for this medication recently. Some of them said they travelled far to look for this."
A surge in cases of HMPV (human metapneumovirus) in China has raised fears of another Covid-style pandemic.
But health experts say HMPV is not like Covid, and point out it has been around for many years.
They say China and other countries are simply experiencing the seasonal increase in HMPV typically seen in winter.
First identified in the Netherlands in 2001, HMPV spreads through direct contact between people, or when someone touches a contaminated surface.
The virus leads to a mild upper respiratory tract infection for most people.
It is usually almost indistinguishable from flu.
Symptoms for most people include a cough, a fever and blocked nose.
The very young, including children under two, are most vulnerable to the virus.
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It also poses a greater risk to those with weakened immune systems, including the elderly and those with advanced cancer, according to Hsu Li Yang, an infectious diseases specialist in Singapore.
If infected, a "small but significant proportion" of immunocompromised people can develop more severe disease where the lungs are affected, with wheezing, breathlessness and symptoms of croup."
Dr Hsu added: "Many will require hospital care, with a smaller proportion at risk of dying from the infection."
