We Reveal States Where HMPV Is Surging – And How to Tell if You Have Virus Ravaging China
The winter virus fueling pandemic fears in China is surging across huge swathes of America.
Jan. 9 2025, Published 2:06 p.m. ET
The winter virus fueling pandemic fears in China is surging across huge swathes of the US, experts have disclosed.
Today RadarOnline.com can reveal the areas hardest hit by the potentially lethal strain of HMPV, and how to tell if you have contracted the illness.
Large parts of the US Midwest have reported a big uptick in cases, official data shows.
Infections caused by the human metapneumovirus (HPMV) are three times higher in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa than the US national average. More than one in 20 people in those states who has a cough is estimated to have the virus.
Winter virus HMPV is spreading fast in the Midwest, with cases three times higher than the national average.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that 5.4 percent of tests conducted in the region during the last week of December came back positive for HMPV, compared to 1.9 in the rest of America.
HMPV, which some doctors describe as "the most important virus you've never heard of", has been partly blamed for a viral outbreak in China that is reportedly overwhelming hospitals in the country's northern provinces.
But Beijing and the World Health Organization have downplayed footage of overcrowded waiting rooms and wards posted on Chinese social media, saying the country's outbreak is "not unusual" for winter and actually "smaller in scale" compared to last year.
The situation led to some drawing similarities with the Covid outbreak in 2019, which was initially played down by China, but experts say they are totally different.
Data reveals HMPV test positivity rates are climbing, especially in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa.
HMPV is much milder than the initial Covid strain was and because it has been around for decades, there is already population immunity against it.
It first emerged in 2001 and typically causes symptoms of a common cold like cough, fever, and runny nose.
But more severe symptoms such as bronchitis, bronchiolitis and pneumonia can occur, with sufferers experiencing a shortness of breath, severe cough or wheezing.
According to the National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS), a CDC database, the area with the second-highest HMPV rate in the US was Region 5.
Known as 'the virus you've never heard of', HMPV causes mild to severe respiratory symptoms.
This area includes Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
An estimated 2.2 percent of the region's 2,270 HMPV tests came back positive during the week of December 28, meaning around one in 50 people with a respiratory illness has the virus.
Regions 8 and 9 tied for the third-highest HMPV rates with a two percent test positivity out of 1,168 and 354 tests, respectively.
These areas include Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Montana.
CDC says HMPV cases are higher than last year but still considered typical for winter outbreaks.
Regions 1 and 2 had the lowest test positivity rates at 0.9 percent. These areas include northeastern states like Maine, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Jersey.
Region 1 conducted 2,270 tests while Region 2 conducted 1,855.
Overall, data shows positive test results for HMPV are twice as high in the US now compared to this time last year, but cases remain low and the CDC says there is nothing out of the ordinary.
Experts advise rest and hydration as HMPV cases surge across the US, mimicking common winter bugs.
Tens of thousands of Americans catch HMPV each year but few become sick enough to need treatment and get tested.
People may experience nausea and vomiting. Symptoms typically clear after around five days.
However, some may also experience nausea and vomiting. Symptoms typically clear after around five days.
More severe symptoms such as bronchitis, bronchiolitis and pneumonia, which usually affect those with compromised immune systems, can occur, with sufferers experiencing shortness of breath, severe cough or wheezing.
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Most HMPV cases are mild, but severe symptoms like bronchitis and pneumonia can impact vulnerable individuals.
Professor John Tregoning, an expert in vaccine immunology, said when HMPV infects children it looks similar to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a common winter bug that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms.
"It is part of the cocktail of winter viruses that we are exposed to and, like other viruses, it will transmit in coughs, sneezes and in droplets," he said.
Similar to the advice related to Covid and RSV, those infected must "rest, stay hydrated and try not to spread it to others", he added.
